How To Be A Heartbreaker
by rileypotter17
Summary: 7 years after the final battle, Narcissa Malfoy has fallen in love with Remus Lupin. The only problem is, how does she distract Lucius long enough to divorce him? When Ginny's best friend Lacey is offered a proposal to seduce Lucius, will she be able to come out of the deal without falling in love herself? OC/Lucius, Ginny/Sirius, Remus, Narcissa
1. The Deal

**Hi everyone! This is a little fic I will be working on while updating my Hermione/Fred fic and some others. A poll is up on my profile to vote for the pairing in my next long fic.**

**This story is loosely based off of the Marina and the Diamonds Song "How to Be A Heartbreaker" which I love. This is slightly OOC because of the pairings. This story will have three main pairings: Lucius/OC, Narcissa/Remus, and Ginny/Sirius. Don't like? Wait for my next fic. It will also have explicit language and sex. I do not own anything…J.K. Rowling does. Also, Lupin, Fred and Tonks are alive, but Teddy was never born. **

**Now that all of the business is out of the way, let's get started!**

**~o0o~**

**April 2005**

Lacey Delaney was staring at her slightly wrecked complexion in the mirror in her apartment. It was a little place, above the Apothecary in Diagon Alley, but it suited her needs with a small bedroom and even smaller kitchen. She was still having trouble paying the rent, though-but that was a worry for another time. She sighed as she examined her slightly off-color face. She had worked a grueling night shift at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, restocking the shelves for the holiday weekend, when many students would be back in town with galleons to spare. Fred Weasley had urged her to go home a little earlier, but she had truthfully needed the overtime pay, and she had spent so much of her time alone in that little apartment that any form of company was pleasant.

Instead of messing with any beauty potions, Lacey reached for her wand on the bathroom counter and with a quick spell, brightened her complexion and dimmed the circles under her eyes. She had already put on a dress of all things-at Ginny's insistence, so she decided her slightly messy hair and unmade face would be fine.

She had been so caught up in getting ready that she hadn't heard the owl tapping on the small window in her bedroom that overlooked the Alley. She opened it and the little tawny owl dropped a letter in her hand, which she thanked it for with a biscuit. She knew who it was from immediately, as that owl was named Jax, and it belonged to Sirius Black. Ginny Weasley had been using it often as of late, and was always at Grimmauld place.

Lacey wasn't connected to the floo network, as she had no fireplace, and Ginny's letter was a short one—simply asking if she could apparate into her apartment, if she was ready. Lacey replied in the affirmative on the same bit of parchment and sent Jax on his way. The flight time would give her a few more minutes to prepare herself.

Ginny and Lacey had been best friends for years now, their friendship cementing further when they had fought alongside each other in the Battle at Hogwarts, 7 years go. They were both Gryffindors and after Hogwarts was rebuilt, they went back and finished their education together. They were then both drafted on the Hollyhead Harpies Quidditch team. The Harpies, however, had disbanded this year after their coach had been caught making illegal side bets on their matches. The whole team was out of work and none of the other professional teams were having try-outs until next season.

Ginny was fine living off of 'fame' money as they all called it-the price of interviews and endorsements and photos after the battle and subsequent defeat of Voldemort. After all, she had been Harry Potter's girlfriend at the time and for a long while afterwards, not to mention the little sister of one of the 'Golden Trio'.

Lacey didn't have such funds in her vault at Gringotts, but never was jealous of Ginny for it. She liked to live simply anyhow, and was more than thankful when Ginny's older brothers, Fred and George, offered her a good job at their shop.

But Ginny and Lacey hadn't seen each other much lately, and she was much more annoyed with her about that. Sure, Lacey got along with Hermione Granger, who she saw on most occasions, but the girls would never be the best of friends. In fact, Lacey was almost sure Ginny was going around with a new guy-otherwise their weekly pub nights wouldn't have gone by the wayside.

This was what was making Lacey nervous now as she waited for Ginny to appear. Ginny had come out of wherever she had been hiding, saying she wanted to introduce Lacey to someone special and that she had some things she wanted to talk to her about. Lacey was happy for Ginny, but she didn't really want to meet her new man. Since Harry had dumped her to 'play the field' as he had explained, with a rather pompous and obnoxious tone in his voice (Lacey was there, and she would never forget it), Ginny had been beyond depressed. It had been about a year now, but nothing had been serious-just one night stands so far. Lacey just didn't want her best friend to get heartbroken.

And Ginny had been insistent that Lacey look as nice as possible, and to wear a dress if at all manageable. The one she was wearing was a simple black number, cut to her knees. Nothing fancy, but nice. Ginny knew well enough that Lacey would rather go around in ratty muggle jeans and wizarding band t-shirts, but apparently this 'special someone' had some class. Lacey nearly snorted at the thought.

_POP._

"That is the best you could do? _Really?"_ Ginny sighed and Lacey turned around to give her best friend a snide look.

"Yes. We both used to practically live on a Quidditch pitch, remember? I am not a dress kinda girl…" Lacey reminded her, looking over her red-headed friend who looked gorgeous in a deep blue empire waist dress.

"Come on then…" Ginny said, and this time when she spoke, Lacey picked up on the nervous crack in her voice.

"It's a bloke then?"

"Yes, _come on_!" Ginny grabbed her hand and they side-along apparated to Grimmauld place. As it was no longer the Order of the Pheonixs' headquarters, it could be seen plain as day and both girls walked up to the door, entering it without knocking, as it was clear now that Ginny had just been here.

Lacey looked around. She was always amazed that every time she had been here in the past few years, it seemed to get prettier and brighter. She knew both Ginny and Hermione had spent hours upon end making the place livable and free of dust, and the effort was showing. It was now a home full of warm colors and fabrics—nearly akin to the Burrow now but less crowded and cluttered, instead of the dismally grey place it used to be.

Instead of calling out for anyone, or explaining anything-and generally acting odder than usual, Ginny walked up the stairs to the second floor, Lacey having to follow her. Ginny turned into the first room on their left, which had been redone into a casual sitting and tea room and walked in.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Lacey said, completely uncaring that she was in mixed company. It made Ginny, who normally had an equally foul mouth, flush in embarrassment, "What kind of bizarre orgy is this Gin?"

Sirius Black, who was sitting closest to her in the room, started laughing uncontrollably, which did not help matters. Soon, he was beside himself in huge guffaws that were echoing throughout the room. The couple to his right looked helpless. Lacey knew the man well. It was Remus Lupin. He was her former Professor and she had seen him many times throughout the years. The woman, she only knew under darker circumstances. It was Narcissa Malfoy.

"Charming, Ginny," was all that came out of Narcissa's mouth as her eyes flicked from Ginny to Lacey.

"Did you not tell her _anything_?" Remus asked calmly, and Lacey looked as Ginny shook her head.

"Maybe.._oh for the love of Merlin_…maybe you should have, darling!" Sirius managed between laughs that were now dying down, gasping rapidly for air. The endearment was not lost on Lacey, who turned and looked her best friend squarely in the eye.

"Outside, now."

Ginny followed Lacey out into the hallway, shutting the door behind them. Lacey fished for her wand in the purse she had brought along and cast a strong silencing spell, as she wasn't sure how loud she would yell.

"What. The. Hell. Is. That. Deatheater. _BITCH_. Doing. Here?" Lacey asked through clenched teeth. She didn't know much about Narcissa Malfoy, but Harry had said good things about her…how she had saved his life…but then again, Harry was a changed man now, and who was anyone to believe? She had a husband who was a Deatheater for Merlin's sake.

"She is my friend," Ginny protested.

"I can see that," came Lacey's bitter reply, "So you've been chumming it up with a Malfoy instead of me? I don't get it Gin. You've been really distant and I think I'm meeting your boyfriend and then you ambush me with the weirdest mix of people and I don't know what to make of it! I mean, is Remus with Narcissa? Does Hermione know? She'll be devastated!"

"No, no one knows Lace. I trust you more than anyone in the world, and yes, I do want you to meet my boyfriend. I should have prepped you, but I wanted you to go into this with an open mind. Please. Can you do that for me?" Ginny looked desperate, her previously stick straight red hair was now a little messy from her over-excitement and her eyes were pleading.

"Fine, I will behave," Lacey promised. Her friendship with Ginny meant the world to her, and she had to admit she could keep herself calm if it meant unraveling the mystery of the three still in that room. Ginny gave her a half smile and the pair entered the room once more.

"Sorry, we worked it out, can I have a start over?" Lacey asked, trying to lighten the mood and even Narcissa cracked a smile.

"It's good to see you again Lacey, I'd like to add another addendum to my already impressive list of descriptors. Besides hilarious, handsome, incredibly gifted in the.."

"_SIRIUS!"_ Ginny blushed.

"Right, well…I am also Ginny's boyfriend. Have been for about 5 months now…" he said. Lacey glared at Ginny, raising an eyebrow that screamed _5 fucking months and you said nothing_? but she was still silent.

"Awesome, really happy for you both," Lacey managed to extract from her mouth. She was happy for Ginny, definitely. She wanted nothing but happiness for her best friend. But she couldn't wrap her mind around how it happened, considering the fact that they were 25 and he, 44. But that was clearly not a conversation that needed to happen right now.

At Lacey's genuine smile to Sirius, Ginny felt relieved, but the conversation soon came to a screeching halt. Narcissa came to the rescue and Lacey now knew why Ginny wanted her to wear a dress. The woman looked immaculate.

"We haven't officially met. I am Narcissa Malfoy. I've been staying here…off and on…at Grimmauld place for a few months. But we shall get into that…" the graceful woman extended a well-manicured hand, the nails blood red, to Lacey. Lacey shook it limply.

_We shall get into that_? Did that mean this awkward meeting was continuing?

"Remus and Narcissa have something they want to ask you Lace, promise not to kill me okay? I know you better than you think I do," Ginny said at that moment before leaving the room with Sirius. Lacey watched their fingers entwine naturally, and the pair of them weren't as odd of a match as she thought, but the remaining pair in front of her was.

Remus motioned for her to sit in the chair Sirius had just vacated and Lacey did; crossing and re-crossing her legs out of nerves.

"Aren't you married?" Lacey asked Narcissa bluntly. Tact wasn't one of her strong points, but Narcissa was actually glad for it, as it cut out much unnecessary sidestepping.

"Yes, and that is what I want to talk to you about. I know this is probably going to seem like the most bizarre request, but Ginny and I have gotten to know each other fairly well since I have been seeing Remus. She speaks highly of you all of the time. In fact, there is often not a day which passes in which she doesn't mention you. She had missed you so much, and that is why she finally let you into all of this today, so that you can be with her and us and know the truth…" Narcissa started.

Lacey studied her bare knees and then looked at Remus, who seemed awfully nervous as well. She had always looked up to the man, and had many a laugh with him in this very house when she and Ginny were first experimenting with firewhiskey. Remus was such a good man. She had been sad when things hadn't worked out with him and Tonks, but they had seemed to part amicably. He had been dating Hermione for quite some time, she had thought, but then again, she hadn't seen either of them in a few months to really know. Lacey figured that if he could willingly sit next to this woman, a woman who everyone knew was on the dark side of the war, something must have changed.

"You see, I am not happy at home. I know adultery isn't the best solution to that…but I had never planned on committing it. My husband, Lucius, has been taking mistresses on the side for years. It has slowly broken and worn me down, as I used to love and adore him. Both of us have changed after the war…that isn't the problem. He's a different and better man now. But that doesn't mean he prefers me anymore. One day, I was out in Diagon Alley shopping and I literally ran myself into Remus on accident. He helped pick up my things and bought me a drink. We talked for hours. I still don't understand it, but my heart opened to him and I know I want to be with him. Remus understands who I am now, who I have grown and changed to be, and doesn't mind my scars from my past."

Lacey couldn't help but smile when she saw Remus squeeze Narcissa's hand.

"So…what exactly is this request?"

"Well," Narcissa shifted in her seat awkwardly, "I really do want to divorce Lucius. I want to make it official. But I can't do that or push any papers through at the ministry right now because he is currently unoccupied and too nosy with me for his own good. I've been talking with Ginny about you…and…"

Remus saw Narcissa pause at stepping over the line of social grace and stepped in, "Lacey, what Narcissa is trying to say is that Ginny, Sirius, and I recognize traits in you that could be err…a _distraction_ for Lucius."

Lacey furrowed her eyebrows, leaning closer, not sure that Remus had actually just said that.

"You are very beautiful, more so than Ginny described," Narcissa said. In fact, the older woman had been looking at Lacey since she had entered the room. She was tall, taller than Narcissa, who judged the girl to be about 5'7'' and a good head taller than Ginny. Her skin was creamy and pale and she had a massive amount of slightly wavy chestnut hair that looked effortlessly beautiful hanging down her back. She had long, toned legs, clearly from Quidditch, but girlish curves everywhere else. Her eyes were ice blue, nearly the exact same color as Lucius', which was probably her most stunning feature and the one Narcissa liked the most.

"Thank you?" Lacey shrugged.

"And, for a lack of better words, you do not put up with shit…" Remus said, absently scratching his head.

"And by distraction you mean…."

"Lacey, all I need is two months to get everything squared away. Lucius has no current mistress to distract him. Just two months…"

Lacey's eyes went wide and she stood up quickly, "I will not fuck your husband, no way in hell!"

"Lacey…" Remus said, employing his Professor voice, but it did not work.

"I am not a goddamn prostitute _Mrs._ Malfoy…"

"I never said you were dear," she said apologetically, "No, I am not asking you to sleep with Lucius. I am asking you to distract him. I am asking you to pretend to be interested in him, keep him occupied, and most importantly, I am asking you to break his heart."

There was a slightly vindictive smile playing on Narcissa's lips. It was one Lacey could relate to. Lacey had had her heart broken numerous times in and out of Hogwarts. She was currently getting her heart toyed with right now, by a handsome Quidditch player named Oliver Wood.

"So, you want to get back at him for all of his infidelity?" Lacey asked, suddenly a little more interested.

"Ginny said you had a soft spot for that."

"Yeah, I've been cheated on my fair share, but I am still not sold. No offense Mrs. Malfoy, but I really do not know if I could fake attraction to someone who gave my best friend a deadly diary when she was just a little girl…"

Narcissa grimaced at the memory.

"And I hardly think he would go for me. Half-blood, poor, Gryffindor alum…not a great track record for a man like him," Lacey said. Remus was starting to look worried.

"Trust me, I have no doubt he will fall for you. That will be the easy part. You just have to make it sincere enough that when it comes the time, and you break it off, it hurts him. No sex is necessary, just flirtation. I promise. Lucius is an old-fashioned kind of man…he likes the chase and the courtship. If I am lucky, the papers will be through before you get anywhere remotely physical with him," Narcissa promised. She saw the look of consideration in Lacey's eyes.

"That's not all Lacey," Remus cleared his throat, "We just haven't been wanting to tell you the last part…"

"I don't want to insult you dear…"

"I think if I haven't run out of this room screaming about how you two are nutters, I can handle anything."

"I'll pay you 30,000 galleons to do this. Ginny's mentioned how you want to move and how you might want to further your studies and possibly start working at the ministry. This money can help you do that" Narcissa explained.

"It's a bribe to seduce your husband…"

"It's a thank you for giving me another chance at love," Narcissa said, looking up with hopeful eyes at Lacey. Between hers and Remus' wolf-pup look, she couldn't say no.

"I am going to murder Ginny, but fine. I will do this for you because she trusts you and I can clearly tell you and Remus are in love. And I'd like to hurt the bastard anyway. At least for what he did to Ginny. As long as you tell me exactly what I need to do, consider me on board."

**A/N: I hope you guys like the beginning so far! There will be lemons to come and much more, this is just the start. Send me a review and tell me what you think!**


	2. The Transformation

**A/N: I want to thank my few reviewers, followers, and favoriters who have given this story a chance so far. I really appreciate it!**

**~o0o~**

"Gin, he's twenty years older than you. Twenty years!" Lacey sighed as she set down her third glass of firewhiskey that was now half empty. As part of the terms of agreement with Narcissa…and the two former Maurader's, Lacey was allowed to have pub night back. And she took no time in cashing in her first one.

Ginny blushed. It was almost midnight and the Three Broomsticks was slowly emptying. Both girls were sufficiently plastered and getting strange looks from the other tables at their loud laughter.

"So, I can't very well help it Lace, have you seen him? _Have you?"_ Ginny insisted as if her best friend had never seen the man before and Lacey rolled her eyes.

"Yes, he's dishy. I get it. The whole world gets it. What I don't understand is why you would keep this a secret from me, your best friend in the entire bloody world, for _five _months. Are you sure this has nothing to do with Harry?"

"I swear it doesn't. I don't even want Harry to find out. This isn't some twisted way to make him jealous…I really _really _fancy Sirius. I don't know why…I guess Harry and I had always hung out at Grimmauld and after it stopped hurting so bad, I went back. Sirius was always there for me. We'd talk, he'd take me out for a pint, we'd make fun of Hermione and Remus, and then one night something just clicked. I know it isn't really a best-case scenario, but you really can't plan these things."

The way Ginny went on about her boyfriend made Lacey soften. She was really happy for the girl sitting across from her. In fact, the whole day had softened Lacey quite a bit, but it had also made her a bit jealous. She longed for the type of bond Sirius and Ginny and Narcissa and Remus possessed. But, she was 30,000 galleons richer, and she could hardly argue with that. She could live without a bloke.

"Gin I support you. I'm just worried about the eventuality of your mother finding out. Or Harry…"

"No one is going to find out, especially with you helping now. I love my family but I can make my own decisions, and everyone that needs to know, finally does. End of story," Ginny said. They finished their drinks and Lacey covered the tab before they walked out of the pub. The crisp night air was sobering and Ginny looked sheepish as she turned to look up at her best friend, "I am sorry for ambushing you today. I just know how much you need a change and Narcissa can make that happen. I will be there with you through this whole thing, alright?"

"Alright," Lacey sighed, placing her hands on Ginny's shoulders to steady her, "You okay to apparate home?"

Ginny took a deep breath, "Yeah. See you tomorrow. And not a word to my brothers, understood?"

**~o0o~**

As she left her apartment and turned left towards the Weasley brothers' shop the next morning, a terrible feeling gnawed at her insides when she remembered what she was supposed to be doing last night.

She truly hadn't expected to stay that long at Grimmauld, nor to be propositioned to seduce Lucius Malfoy…and she certaintly hadn't anticipated accepting any such proposition. But Lacey had, and had subsequently forgotten all about how Oliver Wood was supposed to come over that night. As her path took her around the back of the shop like second-nature, she realized that there had been no letter from him, nothing to indicate that he had tried to reach her.

He had probably forgot himself. But with much less of a reason too.

_Probably off with some slag of a fan_, Lacey thought to herself and tried to put on something resembling a smile as she greeted Fred and George and some of the other morning workers.

"Rough night?" George asked, hopping over the counter with ease and following Lacey as she went to set her bag down.

"You look like shite," Fred seconded, suddenly appearing besides her. Lacey groaned. Even the pepper-up potion she had taken was not enough to combat nosy Weasley twins in the early morning hours.

"Or like you have been thoroughly shagged," George winked at his twin, "So which is it Lace?"

"Your sister and I got pissed last night," Lacey said conversationally, trying to make it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Little Gin, haven't seen that sprite in a while now have we Forge?"

"Not in months now Gred…"

"Boys, please," Lacey brushed them both off. She just wasn't in the mood. She had a big night ahead of her and the less she spoke to them, the less chance there was of letting anything slip. She walked out onto the sales floor to straighten up a display of Pygmy Puffs before the store opened.

"Something is going on that you aren't telling us…" Fred followed her, saying it in a sing-song voice. George lingered by the counter once again, eyeing his brother to cool it and leave her alone. He knew well enough that when Lacey was in a foul mood, she was not one to be messed with. Fred often couldn't see the signs, being too damned smitten with the brunette to care.

"Really, I swear, just tired," Lacey looked at the lanky red head in front of her, smiling up at him. She always had liked that the twins were taller than she was, since most of her friends weren't. It made her feel a little more girlish and a little less Amazonian. Fred gave an unconvinced hum before sauntering off, leaving Lacey be.

When her shift ended at around two, Lacey said a quick goodbye to her friends and employers and walked down Diagon Alley to the apparition point. The cobblestoned street was filled with students and families, all in town and off of school for the Easter holiday. She was glad she wasn't still at work, but at this moment it seemed the less traumatic option compared to what she had to face now. This afternoon was when she had to start fulfilling the promise she had entered into.

The door was open at Grimmauld place when she tried it, but it was a much different scenario than the one she had entered in the day before. True, Lacey was a bit early, but Narcissa was nowhere to be found, and the only people she came across were Hermione and Ginny. The girls were sitting at the long, well-loved wooden table in the kitchen and taking animatedly, although Ginny's expression was rather tight.

"Hey," Hermione said quickly, barely acknowledging Lacey as she walked into the room, and turned back to her conversation with Ginny.

"Charlie and I are going to Budapest tomorrow, for the holiday. He's so romantic. And Merlin, he's so adventurous in bed. _Nothing_ like Remus was…" Hermione went on, louder than necessary. Ginny widened her eyes in horror and Lacey took this as her cue to leave. She left the kitchen quickly, crossing the hallway to the library for solace.

She wasn't the only one who had been looking for a quieter space. Remus was sitting on a green velveteen armchair by the fireplace, a book open, but ignored, on his lap.

"So…you can hear her?" Lacey started the conversation based on the look on his face.

"Werewolf thing," he grimaced, "But I guess it is my fault that she's trying to make me jealous. I broke her heart with no explanation. Honestly, I thought Hermione and I were going to make it for the long haul. But sometimes, things can change so suddenly. And they aren't always tied up neatly."

Lacey sat down on the couch, a few meters away from him. Now that she was entrenched in it, she could see that the whole situation was much more complicated than it initially appeared to be. Although Lacey wasn't overly fond of Hermione, she knew she would be bragging loudly about any conquest within earshot of her ex if she could help it. In fact, she had done it before. She felt bad for the girl, and clearly, so did Remus.

"She'll find someone else. Maybe she has with Charlie, I don't know. But she's young and I always felt I weighed her down in our relationship. Too much baggage…" he sighed.

"We all have baggage from the war, Remus," Lacey offered, "And besides, Hermione's nice but you and Mrs. Malfoy…_Merlin_ I never thought I'd say this, but you seem right together."

"Thank you Lacey, but the problem is, she'll never be Mrs. Lupin," he said, more to himself than anything. It was hard for everyone to see Remus like this. His moodiness had waned lately, but she could understand why it was back in full force this afternoon.

"But I'm going to fix that," Lacey reminded him, wanting to cheer him up. His eyes snapped to hers and he gave her a grateful smile. Before he could manifest his thanks into words, the floo lit up and Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace, brushing off her beautiful emerald green shift dress in annoyance.

"Sorry it took so long, Lucius has been monitoring our floo so I had to take the one at the Leaky," she explained. Lacey watched them quietly for a moment. The way they looked at each other was arresting, and they seemed untouchable in their own little world.

"Hermione's here," Remus said quietly and the happiness in Narcissa's eyes instantly shattered. Her look went cold and she pursed her perfectly red lips. If Lacey wasn't mistaken, it was jealousy etched all over the fine lines on her face.

"_Wonderful_," she said. Yes, that confirmed it. Remus noticed it as well and his uncomfortable look at Lacey made his lover's eyes follow his.

"Lacey! Darling, perfect!" she clapped her hands together lightly, "Where is my cousin?"

"Upstairs, most likely hiding…"

_POP._

"I can feel when another Black is in the house, you know…" Sirius smiled, walking over to Narcissa from where he had just apparated and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was amazing to Lacey how things could change. During the war, she had heard Sirius explain vehemently to anyone who would listen how disappointed he was that Narcissa was family. But now that terrible times were behind them, it was nice to see them reconnected. It was just another example of how people could change, and that they were often judged too soon.

"'Mornin' Sirius," Lacey greeted him brightly. He turned to her and gave her a charming smile that would have made anyone else go weak in the knees. Lacey could see why Ginny was smitten.

"Big day today," he winked at her, "Let's go upstairs and talk? Is the swot still here?"

"Unfortunately. Don't tell me you haven't heard her going on loudly in your kitchen about what a joy it is to sleep with Ginny's brother?" Remus looked at his best friend, whose face changed to one of disgust. Narcissa's hand clutched tighter around her handbag, making her already pale knuckles nearly translucent.

"Well then. Guess Ginny will not be joining us, that's alright…" Sirius shrugged. He took his wand out of the back pocket of his trousers and moved a crimson armchair and a black ottoman to form a semi-circle with the couch Lacey was sitting on and Remus' chair. He put up some silencing spells and a ward on the door before taking a seat on the ottoman. Narcissa followed his lead and sat primly down on the chair, crossing her ankles and opening her handbag.

"Luckily my house elf Mipsy is loyal," Narcissa sighed, fanning out a thick stack of papers on the small, low table in between all of them, "Copies of Lucius' schedule for the next two months. Every appointment at the Ministry, every lunch date, every errand planned to the minute. My husband is nothing if not exact."

Lacey looked over them. The pages of the date book were nearly filled to the brim in Lucius' thick, slanted, and decidedly masculine handwriting, "But he's mostly at the Ministry. I can't just be wandering around in there as a guest day in and out. It will look suspicious…"

"Glad you brought that up, love," Sirius had a worrying twinkle in his eye and Narcissa looked at him in confusion. It was clear that whatever he was up to, she did not know about.

"I just so happened to run into Ron today. Apparently the lovely old bitty that was his secretary retired. He's looking for a new one. His office isn't terribly busy, so it would only be a few days a week. I pretended to mull it over for a moment and then suggested you. He loved the idea!"

"That's a bit close for comfort isn't it Padfoot?" Remus wondered, and Lacey smiled at the use of their nicknames, "Putting her in the Auror office with Harry and Ron while she sneaks about to find Lucius Malfoy? A man they both hate to the core?"

Narcissa sniffed, clearly in agreement.

"Look, it's the best we can do without having Lacey quit her job with the Twins. That would look even more suspicious. There is no other way we can get her into the Ministry on a daily basis…" Sirius argued.

"You know, you can all stop talking about me as if I'm not here. I chose to do this, so I should get a say. I want to. I'll take the job at the Ministry," Lacey interrupted, slightly annoyed.

"Good, I'll let Ron know. He'll probably want an interview, but you'll be in, I promise," Sirius nodded.

"Very well. Now, about tonight…" Narcissa re-directed the conversation, pointing one of her crimson nails to the space on his date book for this evening. In large letters were the words 'Ministry Ball'.

"I don't have an invite," Lacey said naively.

"Don't be silly, you are my date. I practically get begged to go for no apparent reason," Sirius laughed. Lacey looked tentatively around at the three in front of her.

"Lacey, it's okay. Ginny knows. It's not as if she can go with Sirius. She's going to be there with a friend from the Cannons. Narcissa and Lucius will be together, and I…er…well I'm staying home," Remus tried to quell the girls' fears. At the last bit, she saw Narcissa visibly sadden. She couldn't blame him for not wanting to go, even though he surely would have an invite for all the work he did regarding werewolf rights, but watching his lover on her husband's arm would be torture.

"Alright," Lacey cleared her throat, feeling decidedly out of her depth, "I…"

"Boys, I think it's time for you two to go out for a drink. The conversation is about to not suit your tastes…" Narcissa said as gently as she could. As men do when faced with such a threat, Remus and Sirius hastened for the floo. When the two women were alone, Narcissa turned an appraising eye on Lacey.

"Now, there are a few things you need to know about Lucius. The first is that he likes a challenge, which won't be a problem,"Narcissa began, eyeing Lacey's body language as she crossed her arms, "The second is that he likes his ego stroked…"

"Stop. Non-negotiable. I can't compliment a man I don't respect," Lacey said fiercely. She had always though him more of a coward than anything and when her entire life she had been taught to be brave, she didn't know what there would be to say nice about him.

"Learn to," Narcissa said harshly, "If you can't tell a simple lie, then I don't know how this is going to work."

"Yeah, of course, sorry," Lacey said quickly, after all, this woman was about to pay her way out of her shite apartment.

"And the third is…he likes his women dressed well…" Narcissa finished.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I'm sorry, but this is who I am. If I want to go around in jumpers and ratty trainers, then I can," Lacey declared hotly.

"Please don't call me that. Don't you think I am just as embarrassed and disappointed that even though he has changed so much, he's still rather superficial? You are a lovely girl, and the only reason I walk around looking like I do is because it has been ingrained in me since birth. I don't care what you wear anywhere else, but around him, you have to change," Narcissa pleaded back with the younger woman in front of her. Lacey looked down at her bright orange jumper from the shop.

"I don't want to change who I am for anyone."

"Don't think of it as a change, think of it as a part you are playing. Compartmentalize him in one spot in your mind. That's what I do. I promise you, it will be easier than you think. Make a new persona for that girl. And when you are away from him, turn back into this sweet, dear girl. A girl I cannot thank enough for helping me," she smiled at Lacey and placed a gentle hand over hers.

"Narcissa," Lacey ventured, "I don't have a thing in my closet that Lucius will approve of."

The blonde smiled wider now, "I figured as much. I gave Ginny some money and the two of you are going shopping tomorrow. No exceptions. But I did take care of your dress for tonight…"

**~o0o~**

Two hours later, and with a lot of petty fights between Narcissa and Lacey, involving many swear words that made Narcissa blush; the woman had wrangled Lacey into a dress and done her hair and makeup.

"Is she done already? We have to go!" Ginny shouted from the first floor of Grimmauld up to the room Narcissa had commandeered for her makeover. She was standing in a gorgeous navy dress that was a glistening column on her lithe body. Her hair was slightly curled and brushed over one shoulder. Sirius couldn't take his eyes off of his girlfriend, but looked equally dashing in a full black suit. Remus was lingering close by, still in his house clothes and looking rather glum.

"Damn! Hold on!" came Lacey's irritated voice from upstairs. A moment later the door opened and Narcissa came down the staircase first, looking flawless in a pale blue dress that skimmed the floor. Her hair was upswept and she had large diamonds in her ears.

"I present to you all, Lacey Delaney," she smiled, looking up to the landing where Lacey was now standing. Ginny made a rather obnoxious cat-call. Her sweet but tough essence was still there, but she did look different. Her pretty chocolate locks that were normally haphazardly strewn around her face were straightened and falling in a long curtain down her back. Her face was perfected with a little bit of makeup, nothing overdone, and the curves of her body were practically poured into a luxurious black dress. The neckline cut low and there was a generous slit up the side, but otherwise the dress was unadorned. Lacey clutched onto the banister as she teetered slightly on the heels that made her nearly 5'11'', but made it safely to the first floor.

"You clean up nicely," Sirius complimented her and Lacey nodded in thanks, still slightly in pain from having her face prodded in all manners, and nervous for what lie ahead.

"I need to go, Lucius is going to be furious with me, I'll see you soon," she said to Lacey, Ginny, and Sirius before kissing Remus less-than chastely and heading for the floo.

"Are you ready?" Ginny asked.

"I don't ever think one is ready to walk into a snake's den, do you?" she sighed, took the arm Sirius offered her, and soon the three were off to the Ministry Ball.

**A/N: Next chapter we finally see Lucius I promise! Reviews will help that time come a bit faster! Tell me what you guys think!**


	3. Rule Number One

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and kind words! They mean so much, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story! Lyrics from "How to Be a Heartbreaker" by Marina and the Diamonds.**

**~o0o~**

**Rule Number One, is that you've got to have fun. But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run.**

"Calm down Lacey," Sirius whispered to the girl on his arm when he heard her breath quicken by his ear. With her heels adding to her already tall stature, she was eye level with him and just short of hyperventilating as they walked up the steps to Kingsley Shacklebolt's manor.

"I haven't been in a dress in three years, Sirius," Lacey replied snappishly, although her dress was the least of her worries. Sirius handed the man at the door his invitation and they were ushered into the large foyer of the manor. Apparently, Shacklebolt had done quite well for himself since becoming Minister of Magic after the war. Sirius seemed quite familiar with the layout of the place and gently guided her to the left, taking two glasses of something frothy off of a tray and handing one to her. Lacey downed it in one swallow.

"Classy," Sirius laughed and Lacey snorted, which then made him raise an eyebrow as he desperately tried not to dissolve into even more laughter.

"Fucking twit," Lacey grumbled under her breath at him. One more catch of Sirius' eyes reminded her that they were being watched. She straightened her back and tried to look like she was having a good time. Of course they were bombarded with numerous couples asking if Sirius was finally settling down. Despite Lacey vehemently telling the strangers that she would _never_, _ever_ settle down with Sirius Black, he was a bit more polite and introduced her as a good friend.

It took a while for them to find anyone else they knew well, as the manor was full of people in cocktail attire, chatting about Quidditch (Lacey was recognized a few times and had her fair share of condolences about the Harpies) and politics (Sirius was constantly asked if he was going to take the rumored offer of Head of the Auror Department). When they finally escaped the boring and invasive questions from who's-who in the wizarding world, they found Ginny with her friend Colin Dennison, Keeper of the Chudley Cannons.

"I haven't seen either of them," Ginny said, stepping away from her date as he and Sirius fell quickly into a conversation about last week's match.

"Ginny, I don't know what to do. I feel so out of place here…"

"So do I, Colin's being nice and all, but it's hard to not have Sirius when I see Harry snogging some blonde in the corner of the ballroom," Ginny's face was strained. She was trying so hard to keep a pleasant smile on her face, but Lacey knew it must still hurt. She put a hand on her friends' shoulder.

"You can have him back, trust me, we hardly get along…" Lacey tried to make her feel better and managed to coax a smile out of her best friend when a familiar voice interrupted the group.

"Gin! Oh, heya Sirius!" Ron Weasley, one arm around his new bride Luna Lovegood and the other holding a plate full of food, burst into their circle. As Luna said her 'hello's', he joined Sirius and Colin's conversation for a moment before heading over to Lacey. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek and asked when she could start in the office.

"Oh, you are serious then?"

"Yeah, you are my little sister's best mate, Mum loves you, my brothers love you, why not? It'd be a hell of a lot better to have someone I can actually talk to. Come in Monday at 9, alright?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Thank you so much," Lacey beamed. _One thing down_, she checked off in her head mentally, _now to find Mr. Malfoy_.

**~o0o~**

Lucius Malfoy looked utterly bored as he stood next to his wife in the ballroom that had been transfigured to hold upwards of three hundred people for the occasion. Narcissa was making small talk with one of his coworkers' wives. Lucius hated the semi-annual balls that the Ministry threw. He thought they were just a pointless excuse for everyone to get drunk and spread rumors interdepartmentally. In all honestly, he would have much preferred being at home in his study with a fire going and a glass of something expensive and strong.

It was then, as he was tuning out the sugary tones of his wife, that a girl caught his eye across the room. The pained look on her face was what attracted him immediately- glad to know someone here was having less fun than he. Despite her grimace, he noticed the rest of her face, which he was certain, would be even more beautiful if smiling, and the dangerous set of curves in the slinky black gown she was wearing. She was in conversation with some people he couldn't quite see at the moment, but when the crowd parted after a dance, he noticed she was on the arm of a man he truly detested—Sirius Black.

"Something wrong darling?" Narcissa asked her husband, trying to contain her glee. The awful woman she had been talking to was finally out of her company and she had followed her husband's eyes to see that they had found Lacey.

"No," he drawled, turning to look at Narcissa, "Just surprised that your cousin has a date is all."

"Oh, yes, she's rather pretty," Narcissa feigned disinterest, but chanced a glance at her husband again and found his eyes trained on her. She knew he at least seconded her opinion silently, but it wouldn't bode well for her and Remus if Lucius thought she was in love with a man he couldn't stand.

"Has he mentioned seeing anyone?" Lucius knew his wife and her cousin were speaking to each other, and while he had started to become cordial to her last blood relative out of her coaxing, he was fine that he was kept out of their rekindled bond.

"Just friends I heard. I guess he is seeing someone. No one knows who, but she couldn't make it, so he invited this girl instead…"

"Interesting," Lucius ended the conversation. Although she struck him as enchanting, he knew getting anywhere near Black would be a bad idea when a woman was involved and decided to drop the matter for now. He had broken it off with his last mistress about six weeks ago and was starting to become agitated from lack of release. Narcissa had been ignoring his bed, which he could hardly blame her for- since he had been unfaithful, but he was on the hunt for a replacement.

"I'm going to go and find Draco and Astoria," Narcissa excused herself and Lucius was perfectly content being left alone in his little corner of the party. Since the war was over, and since he was cleared of most charges in exchange for the names of remaining Death Eaters, his terrible reputation had slowly faded. People were never going to be completely convinced of his transformation, he knew that, but he felt confident in his repentance. It didn't mean that the air of mystery and danger surrounding the Malfoy name had to disappear completely, however, and he reveled in the fact that oftentimes people were still too afraid to approach him. This left Lucius to casually observe his surrounding, his favorite advantage.

**~o0o~**

Lacey was beginning to lose track of the hour. Sirius had left her side a while ago and she had been forced into conversation with Harry Potter and his witch of the moment, a terribly flighty blonde who was much too touchy-feely with the 'Boy Who Lived'. When, at last, Lacey found herself without a conversation partner, she started to drag her eyes across the ballroom. She felt uncomfortable in the act, almost as if someone was watching her before she could see them-and she was right. When her eyes found Mr. Malfoy for the first time, she realized that they had already been locked on her. All it took was one meeting of their similar pairs of striking blue eyes for Lacey to lose her composure and head off in search of the powder room.

"Oh bloody hell you two!" Lacey shrieked. She had been totally caught up in her own thoughts when she bumped into Sirius and Ginny snogging like the world was ending in the dark recess by the bathroom.

Ginny parted from Sirius, blushing nearly the shade of her hair, but did not move her hands that were in rather compromising places on his body, "Thank Merlin it's just you…"

"Yeah, no shit Gin. Why don't the two of you stop acting like randy teenagers and go home before someone sees you…" Lacey glared at them. She wasn't annoyed at them…it was more of the unsettling feeling she had received when she had caught her target's eye across the dance floor. And no one had been there to help her. She was really starting to think she couldn't do this.

"What happened, you look awful?" Ginny asked her best friend.

"I'm fine, just go…"

"You heard the girl," Sirius grinned and Lacey heard their dissaparition before barging into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and stood at the lovely marble sink, staring at her pale reflection in the mirror.

_You can do this Lace, he's just a man. Just one stupid man. If you don't do this, you don't get to move out of your shite apartment. You need to help your friends. You need to do one unselfish thing, Lace. Just one._

Lacey groaned as she tried to rectify the mess that her hair had become in the last few hours. As she smoothed down the fly-aways that were taking over near her forehead and wiping away a bit of smeared eye makeup, she took a deep breath and looked at the mirror sternly.

_Lacey, you are sexy, and you are confident, and if you can dodge two bludgers simultaneously, then you can talk to this man. Leave normal Lacey behind and be heartbreaker Lacey, just like Narcissa said…_

Lacey cocked her head to the side and stared at herself for a second more.

"Oh fuck it all," Lacey said to the girl staring back at her and left the restroom. She walked back into the loud ballroom and quickly spotted Mr. Malfoy across the floor. In about two dozen careful strides in her heels, she was right before him.

"Excuse me, would you like to dance?" she asked, thoroughly surprised that her voice sounded confident. He wasn't looking at her and she had the moment to herself to take him in. She had seen him a few times in her life, mostly during her Hogwarts years and in the Daily Prophet. His hair was much shorter than the last time she had seen him, just grazing his shoulders, maybe a bit longer. His chiseled face was staring off into the distance and his eyes were the most intense part of his visage. She was taken aback by the sight of them up close. They had made her stomach turn in knots across the room, but now those two cool blue-grey orbs were both wholly frightening and intriguing at the same time. He was wearing all black and even as she took in his well-built form, he still didn't acknowledge her.

"I said would you like to dance? This is the only one I know and…"

"I heard you the first time," he said suddenly, still not looking at her.

"Well then?"

"_Well then_?" Lucius turned, repeating her words in a mocking manner, "_Well then_…do you know who I am?"

"Of course I know who you are Mr. Malfoy, and I hardly expected you to be so rude to a lady!" Lacey snapped at him. She didn't care if it was inappropriate. She was trying her hardest to be nice to him and he was making it impossible.

"Lady?" Lucius smirked, giving her a once over, "Maybe some parts of you, but I am sensing you are more of a girl."

Lacey bit her lip and paused for a second to refrain from cursing at him, "Fine, I am sorry I asked." She turned to stomp away but his hand was on her arm in a second and in one quick movement he had pulled her close to him, positioned her arms on him in the hold for a waltz, and led her onto the dance floor.

"What are you doing?" Lacey asked through gritted teeth.

"Dancing, didn't you ask me to? And I must say, for someone that claimed this was your best dance, you are doing terribly," Lucius replied. It was irritating Lacey beyond reason how his voice could stay so even and his gaze could look so unaffected. She huffed and purposefully stepped on his shiny dragonhide shoes. He didn't even flinch.

"Well, for you information Mr. Malfoy, I am not a girl. I am twenty-four years old," she changed the subject but was starting to falter when it came to her anger. There was something about being so close to him that made her want to scream. Other couples were dancing past her in a rush of color, and the people standing around the edges of the room were blurred. She couldn't find a reassuring face to save her life, and she felt as if she were drowning in the arms of this man.

"Please, call me Lucius. And that hardly helps your argument."

"Why not, _Mr. Malfoy_?" she looked him directly in the eye, emphasizing his formal title to try and get a rise out of him, or at least make him feel the same way that she did. He just stared passively back at her, dancing flawlessly to the sounds of the talented string quartet.

"You asking me to dance when you are clearly here with someone else shows exactly how naïve you are. And naivety is something generally associated with girls."

Lacey was startled when he reminded her of Sirius, but felt slightly more confident that he had clearly noticed her before this moment, "Mr. Black and I are simply friends."

"I have known Sirius Black for a lot longer than I am sure you have and trust me when I say, if he brought you here tonight, he does not think of you as a _friend_."

Lacey was dumbfounded. She hadn't thought for one moment that being Sirius' date would have every caused an issue with her and Lucius. He was a means to get her into the party, but of course she couldn't tell him Ginny Weasley was his girlfriend. Half of her family was there and gossip like that in the hands of the Malfoy patriarch would spread like fiendfyre.

"Well, as far as I am concerned, I consider him only a friend and nothing more. I know what I want and like in a man and Sirius does not fit that description. And I think you can hardly fault that logic or condemn me for being girlish. Especially when you don't even know my name," Lacey said. The song had ended and they stopped on the dance floor. There was a smattering of clapping from people and partners were being changed. Lucius dropped Lacey's arms and with an unreadable expression, merely replied, "I don't need to. Our dance is done, you have gotten what you wished for, you have a date to go back to, and I still have misgivings about you being a lady."

"Sorry for wasting your time Mr. Malfoy, thank you for the dance. But the next time you see me, I would prefer is you use my name, and not something condescending like 'girl'. It's Lacey Delaney. Just for reference," she was proud of herself for her comeback and grinned as she turned on her heel and started to walk away. It had only been a half of a minute since the last song ended, but already couples were twirling around them in another intricate dance and she had to bob and weave to get through the mass.

"How are you so sure there will be a next time!" she heard his voice above the music, but she kept walking. She needed to get out of his presence, and she needed to do it quickly.

**A/N: So, what do you think? They are off to a rocky start! I hope you guys enjoyed. I would love to hear what you thought!**


	4. Boys Will Be Boys & Girls Will Be Girls

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews and follows. They really perk up my day! I hope you continue to enjoy this story and this extra-long chapter! Lyrics from "How to Be a Heartbreaker" – Marina and the Diamonds.**

"**This is how to be a heartbreaker. Boys they like a little danger. We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player."**

**~o0o~**

"Well, that was interesting," Lucius sighed. He and his wife had just entered their large manor and one of their house elves was talking his coat and her wrap.

"Indeed," Narcissa managed. She had seen Lacey and Lucius dancing, but then suddenly Lacey was walking away from him as if her life depended on it and she hadn't seen nor heard from her since, "Draco and Astoria seemed to be having a nice time. I am so looking forward to the wedding."

"Mhmm," Lucius mumbled in reply as the pair walked slowly up the black marble staircase leading from the grand foyer to the second floor rooms. Draco and his fiancée, Astoria Greengrass, were to be married in the summer. It was a smart match, and Lucius was happy for his son, even if it meant he was seeing him less and less; he had other things on his mind that required much more attention anyway. When they reached the landing, Lucius hesitated, "Well, I'm going to bed. Will you be joining me?"

Narcissa looked rather taken-aback. Since he had been without a mistress, there were a few times in the last month that Lucius had taken her to bed—those were times Remus knew nothing about-but he had never asked her like this-never this nicely.

"I was actually going to read for a bit. I'm not very tired," Narcissa lied smoothly and he only curtly nodded in reply before hastening to his bedroom. She began walking slowly towards the library, but when she had heard the click of his door closing and a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed he was gone from the hallway, she changed directions and slowly crept downstairs. With only one, thankfully quiet, interruption from Mipsy asking if she needed anything, Narcissa managed to make it out to the lawn. She silently cursed what a complete mess it was to escape the house now that their floo was being monitored by Lucius, but she couldn't go tonight with seeing Remus.

She apparated to the front of Grimmauld place as Sirius' wards prevented direct apparition, and gently knocked on the door, fairly certain she would look odd to anyone observing as she was still dressed in her pale blue gown and it was just past midnight.

To her surprise, her cousin answered the door, his mouth full of at least a handful of biscuits and he wordlessly motioned for her to come in. When he had swallowed up the crumbs, he pointed up the old staircase, "Remus' in his room…"

"Thanks. By any chance, did you ever find out where Lacey went?"

"No clue. It's like she disappeared," Sirius shrugged, not nearly as concerned as she was.

"And Ginny?" she asked as an afterthought. When in the confines of Grimmauld, the pair was usually attached at the hip, or the mouth.

"I think I wore her out," he winked salaciously and she pretended to be disgusted as she 'tsked' him and started to walk up the stairs, although she had less than innocent thoughts about what she was going to do when she reached her lovers' room.

The door was ajar and when she slowly pushed it open, she saw Remus lying on his side, bare-chested, only his waist under the duvet. His eyes opened and flicked to her silhouette immediately, and he sleepily sat up, "How was it?" he asked, his voice tired.

"As interesting as any Ministry function can be," she replied lightly, sitting down on the edge of the bed and leaning over to kiss him. She noticed a definite resistance and stood abruptly to unzip and take off her uncomfortable gown. She didn't know if he was watching her, but she folded it nicely on the chair, set her heels to the side, and slipped into the other side of the bed in just her underwear, wrapping one arm around his waist.

"Ginny and Sirius were home hours ago."

"Well, you know how it is with Lucius. And it's so hard to sneak out…"

"_Is it?_" Remus snapped and turned around to face her. She abruptly removed her arm from him, sitting up and was wide-eyed from his accusation. He immediately softened at her shocked expression and kissed her forehead, "Merlin, Cissa, I'm sorry. I just don't like that this isn't real."

"But of course _it's real_ Remus."

"But it doesn't feel real. I keep thinking these last few months have been a dream, and one day I am going to wake up and you won't come to me anymore. I never know when I am going to see you, and for how long, and you are always gone before I wake up. I don't like lying and I hate being the other man," Remus admitted evenly. His words weren't angry, but there was a definite prepared quality to them, as if he had been wanting to say this to her for a while.

"I know," she sighed guiltily, looking at his slightly scarred face lit only by the moonlight, "I don't like it either. I promise that very soon it won't be like this and you are an amazing man for putting up with this…"

"Narcissa I love you, I am not going anywhere, it's just a hard situation," Remus relaxed his posture and laid back down onto the bed, taking Narcissa's hand and coaxing her to lay next to him. She moved into his embrace, her back facing his stomach and he ran the faintly calloused pads of his fingers up and down her arm.

"Remus, what about Hermione?"

"What about her?"

"I saw how you were the other day when she was in the house and I…" she was glad she wasn't facing him, or else he would have seen the flush of embarrassment rise up her neck. Jealousy wasn't becoming on her, and she knew it, although it happened so rarely that she didn't know how to contain it.

"I feel nothing for her. Of course it stung a bit though…how could it not? She moved on quickly and on top of the jealousy I feel over Lucius, it was just hard to stomach the fact that I don't truly have anything that's _mine_," the last word was laced with a hint of sexy possessiveness. It was weaker than how it usually manifested itself when he was on top of her, driving himself into her, but it was there.

"I am yours Remus, I promise you. There is no place I would rather be than right here," she assured him and meant it. She truly hated that she made him worry, that she had come along and interrupted his life and put him in this morally ambiguous position not meant for a man as good as he, but she had fallen for him so quickly, she couldn't willingly leave him. She rolled over in his arms and kissed his neck gently, starting to leave small love bites until he was worked up enough that he didn't fight when she maneuvered him so she had both of his wrists pinned down on the bed with her hands. She slithered on top of him and ground her hips against his, but he was having no trouble waking up.

"And I am going to show you exactly how much I mean that," she murmured into his ear and moved her lips back to his mouth, and this time, he kissed her back passionately.

**~o0o~**

Lacey found a bit of spare parchment the second she walked into her apartment and quickly scribbled down:

Didn't get very far. Being Sirius' date was a MISTAKE. Sorry Sirius, not your fault. _Lucius'_.

She underlined 'mistake' a half-dozen times just to make sure the point was driven home before folding it and moving swiftly towards the window overlooking Diagon Alley. When she opened it, she gave a whispered call for her owl, Nikki, who came swooping down from the top of the building and took the note from her, but it wasn't without an annoyed glare before she flew away into the darkness towards Grimmauld place as Lacey had instructed.

With a heavy sigh, Lacey closed the window and turned around. When she saw Oliver Wood leaning against the doorframe to her bedroom, she yelped in surprise.

"Relax, Lace," he said in his thick accent. He was shirtless and in only low-slung plaid pyjama pants, "Expecting someone else?"

"No, just wasn't expecting _you_," she retorted coldly, "You missed our date…"

"Game ran long."

"Yeah, _uhuh_."

"Lace, don't be like that, you know what this is between us," Oliver sighed, walking over to her but she took a step back. It was the wrong move and her ankle twisted in her tall heel and she stumbled, barely grabbing the edge of her small breakfast table in time to keep from fully going down. He moved to help her but she brushed him away.

"No, I actually _don't_ know what this is between us Oliver. Some days it's like you are my boyfriend, and other days I feel like I don't even exist to you. I know you fuck other girls - those dim slags that follow you around like little kittens. I get it Oliver, you are famous. I know we don't want anything committed but I would like to be able to count on you!" Lacey raised her voice, flushed in the cheeks from the shot of firewhiskey she had downed before leaving the ball.

"But that _would _be commitment," he challenged, "But I'm here now aren't I?"

"Great, just bloody great. Thank you Oliver, for gracing me with your presence," she said with biting sarcasm, more so than what usually came out of her mouth towards him. Normally, she was a jumble of hormones in his presence, wooed by anything and everything he had to say, but lately she was getting annoyed, and was tired of being used. She really cared about him, and it was starting to hurt more than she was willing to put up with.

He was silent for a moment as he finally really noticed the form-fitting black dress she was wearing, and that she actually had makeup on, "Where the hell have you been?"

"You know, you have always been so observant," she continued, rolling her eyes. She was pretty sure the guy though only about himself, "Ministry Ball."

"Ministry Ball? And you didn't think to ask me?"

"Well, after you didn't show up the other night, I didn't really know _what_ to think. So no, I went with someone else," Lacey said, reaching down and taking her shoes off, throwing them haphazardly on the floor.

"Someone else? Who else could _you_ possibly go with?"

That comment made Lacey madder than she had been in a long time. She knew she wasn't the best looking girl out there, but she knew she definitely deserved higher praise from a man she had been sleeping with.

"Sirius Black," she said smugly. She could care less about Sirius, but judging from Lucius' reaction, being his date was something that could easily piss another man off.

"Sirius fucking Black, you have got to be kidding Lacey!"

"Not kidding," she smiled, "We had a nice time."

"I am sure you did," he snarked through gritted teeth, "And you say you want commitment but you go around with the likes of him?"

Lacey placed her hand on her hip. She was not only insulted, but insulted for her best friend. That was Ginny's boyfriend, and if he treated her right, which as she had seen so far, he did; what did it matter? She had never known Sirius to be anything other than nice, and although he could be immature, he was harmless. It was infuriating to her that his long-since-passed reputation of being a womanizer had followed him to the age of 44 and had now ruined both her encounter with Lucius and with Oliver.

"Get the hell out of my house," she said flatly.

"You are being ridiculous!"

"Out, take your shit, and get the fuck out Oliver. We're done with _whatever this is_," she used her fingers to quote it sarcastically and he huffed, disappeared into her room, reappeared with his shirt and left without another word.

After a few moments, Lacey took off her dress so quickly she nearly ripped it and ran, jumping onto her bed and spreading her arms out dramatically. As she looked up at her ceiling and felt the indent of where Oliver had obviously been lying before she had walked in, she sighed out, "Fuck men."

**~o0o~**

"So, baby sister, word on the street is that you are dating someone," Fred asked Ginny. Mrs. Weasley's ears perked up from across the table.

"Yeah, I am," she said coolly, giving a glance at her best friend across from her. Sirius, who was sitting at the end of the table next to Mr. Weasley, kept his head down.

"So who's the tosser?" George continued.

"Shut up, both of you, mind your own business," Lacey interrupted before going back to cutting up a piece of the delicious roast Mrs. Weasley had made for Easter supper. The table was lively aside for those tuning into that particular conversation, and Hermione and Charlie's presence was hardly missed. It was clear from the moment Lacey had walked into the Burrow that Mrs. Weasley wasn't fond of the fact that they weren't home for the holiday, and kept asking Remus prying questions about the mysterious break-up.

"Calm down Lacey, if Ginny wants to tell us who she is dating, let her!" Sirius inserted himself perfectly. She realized she didn't give the man enough credit for being such a genius. No one would ever expect the pair of them, especially since they hadn't once given each other an inappropriate glance the entire day. Although Harry was in conversation with Bill and Fleur, Lacey noticed he kept glancing towards their end of the table, surely waiting to see if she would give anything away.

"In due time. I mean, it's fairly new, nothing really _serious_," she emphasized the last word and although Lacey gave a minor choke on her pumpkin juice that got her a harsh glare from Ginny, no one noticed anything.

"Well dear, I would like to meet him soon…it's been so long since…" Mrs. Weasley looked helplessly between Harry and Ginny and sighed, focusing her attention back on her plate.

Since they had been in mixed company the whole day, Lacey hadn't been able to ask if any of them had gotten the letter, but by the apologetic look Sirius gave her when he first saw her, she assumed they had. She was glad the conversation wasn't focused on her, except for when Ron asked if she was looking forward to starting at the Ministry in the morning and she quickly had to appease the twins and promise she would still be at work in the evening, because it gave her time to think about her next move.

She was hoping she could sneak around the Ministry a bit, try and find Lucius and strike up a conversation. But the thought of casually striking up a conversation with that man made her want to laugh, as she doubted he was capable of relaxing enough to have a conversation about the weather. But she had to try, for Remus' sake if nothing else, because even if he didn't take the bait and flirt back, anytime with her was time not with Narcissa.

**~o0o~**

"Great Lacey, thanks. Now this one needs to be hand-delivered to the Improper Use of Magic office because Collins gets on my arse if the paperwork is even a second late, and then while you are out can you drop this off at the Department of International Magical Cooperation? Thanks!" Ron said brightly, taking the new Auror training schedule she had just completed for him and replacing it with some papers and a small parcel. As he walked out of the spacious office, Lacey heard his voice join Harry's as they started talking to the small group of new Aurors in front of them, looking around wide-eyed. Lacey's desk was small but nice in a little room right outside of Ron and Harry's offices. They shared the title of Head Auror and Lacey had found it immediately amusing since she had shown up for work how the pair of best friends ran the Auror office with a casual but efficient manner.

Lacey pushed out her chair and grabbed the papers and parcel, starting to walk out of the Auror department towards the adjacent office for the misuse of magic. She had tried to look as professional as she could, fixing her long brown hair up into a loose bun and wearing a crisp white shirt and a long black pencil skirt under her nicest robes. When she found Seamus Collin's office, she handed the gruff, balding man the paperwork detailing the use of an unregistered wand and then quickly found her way out to the lifts. The main atrium of the Ministry was busy, even though it was only half past eleven. Witches and wizards were hurrying in all directions and Lacey scrambled into the next lift before it took off. By the time they reached level five and the feminine but robotic voice of the lift announced the departments on the floor, Lacey remained with only one other tall witch who exited quickly. Lacey clutched the neatly wrapped parcel to her, unsure of which direction to walk, as Ron hadn't been very specific. She decided to walk towards the pretty secretary in front of a cluster of main offices. The girl reassured Lacey that she was in the right place and they chatted as she marked down the arrival of the package.

"Miss Delaney?"

Lacey whipped around and saw Lucius Malfoy walking down the hallway towards her, snake-headed walking stick in hand.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy."

"Are you some type of Seer?"

"Sorry, _what?_" Lacey asked, confused. She glanced at the secretary who offered her no help, and merely blushed at the presence of the blonde man who was now stopped before her.

"Well, at the Ball, before you walked away from me and so rudely ignored me, you said you hoped I would use your name if I ever saw you again. I hardly thought that was possible, and yet, _here you are_," he seemed amused and the left corner of his mouth upturned slightly, "Come, walk with me."

Lacey felt she had no choice, but couldn't help but silently rejoice that she didn't even have to go looking for him. She continued with him down the hallway before they stopped at a door titled:_ Lucius Malfoy, Office of International Magical Law_. He opened the door and held it for her as she walked into his large office. Everything was clean and contemporary, black and white mostly with an accent of emerald, which she hardly found surprising. He moved and leaned his walking stick against his black varnished desk and sat down in the leather chair behind it.

"Miss Delaney, I wasn't aware that you worked here," he started, motioning for her to sit. She did so, crossing her legs, "You didn't mention it to me while we were dancing."

"It's a recent job, and I really didn't have time to, seeing as you were too busy chastising me about my date," she glared at him. She knew it wasn't exactly the friendliest gesture to start the conversation off with, but she was finding she couldn't help but have her guard up in his presence.

"I wasn't chastising my dear, just being curious. It's not every day you see the famed Black charm _actually _land him a pretty, young girl," Lucius remarked and Lacey sat up straighter, not knowing if it was a compliment. She was also a little angry at her body for the shiver it got when he said 'my dear'.

"Again, just friends, but thank you," she ended, looking around his office to avoid the intense appraisal of his blue eyes. There was hardly anything personal, not even a single picture of his son or his wife, "And once again, you called me a girl."

He laughed. It was a low laugh, just a bit more than a chuckle, and it made her stomach turn nervously, "Well, you have yet to prove me otherwise."

"But I've given you no indication of being a 'girl' other than the fact that I danced with you while already having a date, am I correct?" Lacey narrowed her eyes at him.

He cleared his throat, "_Well_, Miss Delaney…"

"Exactly, you can't think of another reason. Just like there is no reason for you to carry that bloody, gaudy walking stick around when you can clearly walk just fine right?"

Directly after Lacey had uttered the words, she wanted to curl up in a corner and die. She had a bad temper, but he was bringing out the worst of it, and she never liked to lose an argument. But for a moment, she had forgotten she was with Lucius Malfoy, man she had to seduce, and knew that Narcissa would probably murder her if he didn't first.

His eyes visibly darkened and he was silent for a moment and all he did was stare at her, tapping the fingers on his right hand in a very distinct pattern on the desk. That was the only noise in the room and Lacey was fairly certain he could hear her heart pummeling her rib cage.

"Have dinner with me," he said abruptly and it startled them both.

"Dinner, with you? But I just…" she was about to ramble on about how she had just insulted him but he nodded and cut her off.

"Tomorrow, meet me on the first floor in the middle of the atrium at 6 o'clock," he finished and stood. Lacey assumed he meant for her to do it as well and she shakily stood up, walking over to the door. She paused and turned back to look at him.

"Have a nice day," she said and immediately wanted to smack herself. _That was the best you could come up with Lace, really?_ But it didn't matter as he was already focusing on some papers on his desk.

"See you tomorrow evening, Miss Delaney," was all he said, in a completely unreadable voice before she showed herself out of the office and headed back to the second floor in a complete daze.

Lucius waited a few moments, trying to steady his breathing. He had done a fair job, in his opinion, of keeping his emotions masked in front of this girl who had crashed into his life and seemed like a bad idea waiting to happen. But she was an attractive bad idea that he wouldn't mind happening to him. And an intriguing one as well. As he thought about her, he pushed a small button on the side of his desk and few moments later, the secretary from outside was poking her head into his office.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Lacey Delaney, she was just here? Do you know anything about her?"

"Just met her today, sir."

"By this time tomorrow, I want everything you can possibly find about her. School records, family history, everything," he ordered her and although she paled at the workload, she nodded chipperly and retreated.

**~o0o~**

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Lacey looked up to see her best friend. She had been working so hard on a couple of memos that she hadn't notice the redhead sneak up on her.

"You get a lunch break right? I have a bunch of galleons burning a hole in my pocket from a special friend," Ginny reminded her cryptically and she remembered Narcissa's shopping offer. She had been planning on ignoring it, but now that she had a dinner date with Lucius, she knew she couldn't.

"Let me just tell your brother I'm leaving. It's only mornings right now, but I can squeeze in some shopping and lunch before I go work for your other brothers. Strange, isn't it?" Lacey laughed at the situation, disappearing into Ron's office for a second to tell him all the work was done. She came back out and grabbed her bag before heading out of the office with Ginny, who made very sure that Harry saw her leave, and saw how exceptionally pretty she looked.

After a quick lunch in a secluded table at the Leaky where Lacey spilled to Ginny the entire odd exchange between her and Lucius, the girls ended up in a clothing shop at the far end of Diagon Alley. It was a shop Ginny had only been in a few times and Lacey never. The clothes were beyond expensive, but they were given no trouble by the snotty salesgirls when they saw Ginny and recognized her immediately. When she bluntly told them they needed privacy, they were left alone to peruse the dark, trendy store.

"Gin, all of these things aren't me at all!"

"But they will look ridiculously hot on you, come on, let's try them on," she had an armful of clothes for her friend and they headed back to the changing rooms that were expansive and lined with black velvet couches and gauzy drapes. Ginny perched herself on one of the soft seats and Lacey began to try on the clothes. There were lots of dresses. Some were work appropriate, but much classier than anyone would wear at the Ministry on a normal day, and some were for evening wear, with low necklines and high hems. The blouses fit perfectly, the pants were like they were tailored to fit Lacey's body, and there was only one pair of denims in the whole pile-nearly black and slim cut.

"Come out in something already!" Ginny groaned, clearly annoyed, and Lacey stepped out in a sapphire blue dress that had a neckline that didn't go below her collar bone, but dipped deeply down her back, revealing a large amount of her pale skin and a few freckles.

"Holy fuck Lacey, look at you!" Ginny squealed, "He's going to lose it…he's going to absolutely lose it!"

Lacey shot her best friend daggers out of her eyes, "If you would have heard him today, you wouldn't be saying that. He may have asked me to dinner, but it was so weird, he acts completely disinterested in everything."

"He's totally going to lose it," Ginny crossed her arms, nodding at her friend in her dress, "And when he does, you need to be dressed appropriately, hold on…" she disappeared back out into the store and Lacey went and tried on the remainder of the clothes. It was a whole new wardrobe, but she guessed it was fitting. Now that her "breakup" with Oliver was official and she was tasked with seducing a man over twice her age, she was a whole new person-or at least she had to pretend to be.

"No, no, no way in hell," Lacey protested when Ginny returned with an armful of lacy, skimpy lingerie. She was perfectly contented with her comfy boy shorts.

"Narcissa insisted. You gotta look the part Lacey. You honestly aren't even enjoying this as much as you are supposed to!" Ginny shoved the lingerie into her arms, "Don't show me if you don't want, but at least make sure it fits, we're taking the lot."

As Ginny went back out into the store once again to peruse for accessories, Lacey slipped on the first thing in the pile. It was a black corset. She used a bit of wand work to get the back laced by herself and then looked in the mirror at her new identity.

No, it wasn't her comfortable sweats, but she did have to admit, she looked good and a lot more grown up. She felt different, standing there in naught but her underwear and the scandalous bit of lingerie. Maybe just a little dangerous, and definitely less worried. She turned to the side, looking in the mirror, she decided that maybe she could do this after all. Maybe, just _maybe_, she could break Lucius Malfoy's heart.

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Please review, they mean the world to me! And they will get you to the date faster ;)**


	5. Rule Number Two

**A/N: Hi everyone! I really hope you like this chapter. If you are interested in getting updates about my fics, follow me on my FF only twitter at Rileyxpotter17. Enjoy! Lyrics from Marina and the Diamonds, again!**

"**Rule Number Two, just don't get attached to somebody you could lose"**

**~o0o~**

"So, if anything comes up about work…which it will, should I pretend I don't work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? Just the Auror office?" Lacey asked helplessly, looking around the breakfast table. It was 7 in the morning, which meant she had only 11 hours until her date that night and she was not prepared at all. Sirius looked like he was about to fall asleep on the table as he nursed a cup of coffee. Remus, on the other hand, looked very high-strung as he sat next to Narcissa who was picking around the greasy breakfast Ginny had whipped up.

"My husband is a smart man, Lacey. Last night he put in a request to pull your file for his personal perusal. Luckily, Cecelia, the secretary of his office, is one of my very good friends' daughters. I pre-warned her that he might make that request to find out more about you, under the pretense that he was looking for a new mistress and I would like to block his attempts. She's going to hold it up as long as possible but it won't be indefinite," she sighed.

"I can talk to Harry about having it go 'missing', kid'll do anything I ask. And if I mention Lucius in the sentence, all the better. It won't be a problem. Just please love, make as little reference to knowing us as possible. If he finds a trail, it will lead him to Narcissa. It would only be a matter of time," Sirius said, his voice sleepy. Ginny reached over and tugged a little at the ends of his shaggy black hair and he straightened up.

"But please, don't _lie_…just omit things if you can," Remus sighed. The group before Lacey all seemed more on edge than she was.

"And don't be late tonight, he doesn't like that," Narcissa added.

"I feel completely unprepared for this," Lacey sighed, resting her forehead in her hands and groaning over her plate of bacon and eggs.

"The fact that he asked you to dinner so soon is a really good sign!" Ginny reminded her, "You must have done something right."

"You'll be just fine dear," Narcissa said, standing up from the table and placing a hand gently on her shoulder before moving towards the door, "Thank you breakfast Ginny," she said, trying to hide a faint grimace, "but I have to go. I am meeting with my lawyer to start the paperwork."

She gave a silent, sweeter goodbye to Remus with her eyes before leaving. The remaining four finished eating, but at the end of the meal, Lacey's plate was still half full. She just couldn't bring herself to swallow down much when her nerves were making even thinking nearly impossible.

Work went by in the same manner. She hardly heard anything that Ron said to her, but tried her best to keep up, even when her mind was all the way up on the 5th floor with Lucius, desperately trying guess what he was going to say to her.

**~o0o~**

"Lacey, what is going on with you. You've been somewhere else all day. You gave puking pastilles to that kid and told him it was fever fudge!" Fred sighed as he walked over to the brunette who was anxiously looking at the clock.

"I'm sorry Fred, I really am. I just have something really important to do tonight and if I could slip out a little bit early, that would be fantastic," she said desperately. It was nearing half past five and she could barely control her nerves enough to ask the favor.

"Lace, with your new Ministry job, now you can only work nights and we need you!"

"There's plenty of people out on the floor right now, Fred," Lacey pointed out the half dozen, orange-jumpered workers peddling pranks to the evening stragglers. He looked down and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah but they aren't like _you_, y'know. I know we have a ton of kids willing to work here but I like having you here Lace, I really do," there was a softness in his voice that went completely unnoticed by Lacey, who was tapping her foot erratically without realizing it.

"Thanks Fred, that means the world to me. It really does, and I'm not leaving, I just need a half hour off right now. _Please_. It won't happen again. Promise," she was desperate and it bothered Fred, but he nodded and she practically skidded into the hallway in the back of the shop for her bag and then locked herself into the bathroom. Fred sighed and went back to the counter of the store where George had just finished selling four skivving snackboxes.

"Is Lacey being completely oblivious to your flirting again?" George winked knowingly at his twin who hopped up on the counter and waved goodbye to a pair of mums buying birthday presents for their kids.

"Something is not right with her and I am going to find out what it is."

"She's a _woman_, Freddie, nothing is ever right with them!"

"_OI_! Shut up!" Angelina yelled from where she was packing up boxes to her husband and he just laughed.

They were all interrupted when Lacey came out of the bathroom in a form-fitting dark purple dress that showed a large expanse of her creamy white legs. The rest was modestly cut, not showing too much of her cleavage, but she did have on lipstick and some more makeup than she had had on when coming to work. Her outfit ended in tall black heels and she walked slowly towards the twins, clearly trying to keep her balance.

"I get it, you need to leave early so you can go whoring in Knockturn Alley," Fred laughed, trying to hide his jealousy upon seeing her in such an outfit. He had never known Lacey to dress up like this, and one glance at his twin revealed that even he was shocked.

"No. Not what I am doing. Don't worry about it okay? See you boys tomorrow," she said, blushing, and headed quickly out the door, leaving puzzled looks on both red-heads faces. It was at that moment that George only had to shoot his brother a knowing look promising that he was willing to find out what she was up to as well.

**~o0o~**

Lacey felt strange walking into the Ministry of Magic at that hour, with everyone rushing past her on their way to the floos to go home to their families. She also received more unfriendly looks than she was prepared for as witches dressed in conservative work attire and robes looked at her dressy outfit with disapproval. Yet, as he had promised, Lucius Malfoy was waiting for her in the middle of the ground floor of the ministry with a completely impassive look on his face.

When she was finally standing in front of him, trying not to shake in her heels, he simply nodded, took her wrist and Lacey felt the terrible pulling on her navel signaling apparition. She swallowed, closed her eyes, and rode out the nauseating feeling that was amplified with side-along and when she felt her heels had hit firm ground again, she ventured a look.

"The bloody Leaky Cauldron? _That's_ where we are going to dinner? That is what I got all dressed up for?" Lacey exclaimed which garnered her some odd looks from passerby as Lucius led her wordlessly into the pub. It was full inside, as it usually was, but a few people quieted their conversation and nosily peered up at Lacey and Lucius when they entered. Her date walked straight to the bar, asking something quietly of the bartender, before beckoning Lacey to follow him towards the back of the pub where stairs led to the rooms. She watched her steps behind him, already not thrilled with the direction the date was going, and was startled when Lucius used a key to unlock one of the rooms. There was a bed in the corner and the furnishings were of a neutral palette, but it looked like the biggest room the inn had. A fire was already burning and there was a small table with some mead and dinner placed upon it. Lacey walked over to one of the seats and quickly sat down while Lucius took a very long time taking off his robes and his jacket before joining her in just a crisp white button down shirt and black slacks. His blonde hair was tied back with a black ribbon, but since it was shorter now, a strand had escaped and was hanging in his face.

"Are you going to say anything to me?" she asked suddenly after a moment of silence when she realized he hadn't even said hello. In reply, he merely opened the bottle of mean and poured them both a glass. Lacey reached for hers hastily, taking a large gulp to try and ease the fear welling up inside of her.

"Sorry. I thought it was best if we waited until we were in private," he said. In all honesty, he was in a bad mood. His work day had been horrible and to top it off, his secretary had proved she was completely useless by not being able to procure Lacey's records. Lucius Malfoy never went into a date unprepared, and he was feeling anxious from the lack of knowledge about the beautiful girl sitting in front of him, which was yet another reason for his foul countenance. He hadn't expected her to look so incredibly sexy. At the ball he saw that she was quite beautiful, but this was completely different. Usually the girls he met with tried to overdo it and ended up looking like complete slags. This girl, however, had done her best to dress up for him and looked amazing, but he knew she was uncomfortable in a way, and it was attractive.

While he took a few deep breaths to calm himself, Lacey dug into the shepherd's pie in front of her, eating politely, but not pickily. And she kept eating to fill the silence between them and to spare her poor stomach, which hadn't had much food due to her nerves.

"Hungry are we?" Lucius asked finally, amusement tingeing his voice. She looked up with narrowed eyes.

"I have to eat. This is dinner. And if you are going to be unsociable, it shouldn't spoil a meal," she shrugged, trying to play off the fact that it greatly unnerved her that he wasn't speaking much. She had expected a much different scenario.

It was at this point that Lucius took a few bites of his meal and some long sips of his mead, watching Lacey finish her meal, dab at her mouth with the napkin, and then drain her glass. She sat back in the chair and looked around the room before settling her pretty eyes on him again.

"Mr. Malfoy, why are we here? I know I don't know much about you, but I know enough to guess that you usually don't dine at places like this. Don't get me wrong, I like the Leaky, but it just seems weird for you to take me here, to see so many people…I…" she began.

"My wife knows I have mistresses, if that is what you are asking," he explained.

"Clearly," she rolled her eyes, "But you don't mind other people knowing?"

"No. She does what she wants as well. _Not that I am happy about it_…" he grimaced and Lacey straightened, afraid that the conversation was taking a sudden bad turn very quickly, but deciding to play along.

"Oh, does she have a boyfriend?"

"Not that I know of. I wouldn't be happy if she did, but she knows I have had women in the past and our marriage does not suffer from it," he said. Lacey wanted to laugh and tell him how wrong he was, but refrained.

"Why not just get divorced?"

"Miss Delaney, things aren't that simple."

"Fine," she backed off, "But please explain to me. Why here?"

"I always take women here the first time we meet. Why waste time on anything more if it doesn't work out?" he proposed arrogantly and Lacey had to dig her nails into her palm under the table to keep from retorting something rude back at him.

"Oh, I see. So, you want me to become one of these 'women'?"

"Possibly, if you are open to the idea. But I just wanted to get to know you more. There haven't been many women in my life who have treated me how you do," his eyes grew darker and he took another sip of his mead.

"You mean that don't have time for your rude behavior?" she smiled, "And thanks."

"For?"

"For finally calling me a woman," she smirked in delight and he couldn't help but laugh at her for that. Every second that he spent around her was new, and he was surprised by her cleverness.

"Were you a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, Lacey?" he asked and she found herself blushing at the use of her first name. The way the ''L" rolled off his tongue made her name sound like a delightfully dirty word, only spoken in the privacy of a bedroom-which, she noted with irony, was where they were.

"No, a Gryffindor," she answered, hesitantly. There was no way she could lie about her House, nor would she want to.

"I am not surprised in the least. But now all I know is that you have a lovely name and are from the Hogwarts house I most detest. I guess everything is about balance, is it not?"

"You can't be the only one asking questions, it is hardly fair," her heart was starting to beat more rapidly and she assumed it was a combination of the alcohol and her nerves and hoped to Merlin that it wasn't because he looked quite handsome smirking back at her from across the table.

"Fine, be my guest Lacey, ask whatever you would like. I have a feeling you would even if I told you not to."

"What was your last mistress like? By the way, that word is _so_ arcane…" she mumbled as an afterthought and Lucius mused on the subject. He didn't know why he felt so comfortable in this strange girls' presence and yet so jumpy at the same time. He knew he should be giving her barely anything to go off of, but her sitting there with a wicked smile and her piercing blue eyes and messy hair and the delightful buzz from drinking too fast made him willing to say almost anything. He had never let his guard down so quickly, and part of his brain, the part not consumed by curiosity and lust, begged him not to speak.

"A mistake. She ruined a lot in my life," he was hoping he would be able to leave it at that, but the girl just leaned forward on her elbows and asked why. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "She was my son's girlfriend. I am sure you know Draco, you can't be what, a year maybe, younger than him? As you can imagine our relationship has suffered because of it."

Lacey's eyes went wide. She had initially been dreading this night, but he had proved easy to get information out of so far and she wondered if it would really be so bad faking a relationship with him if he provided gossip like this that she could tell Ginny, "You fucked Pansy Parkinson?!" she nearly screamed in half-horror when she remembered who Draco was dating not long ago. Lucius cringed and she quickly blurted out an apology but he shook his head.

"Not one of my finer moments. As I said before, a mistake. As a result, I haven't had a…a _girlfriend_," he tip-toed around the other word, "…for a while now. And that is the end of that."

When he looked at Lacey again, his eyes were much more threatening, and it looked like he had closed himself down. She wondered if she had pushed him too far.

"What do you do at the Ministry?" he changed the subject eagerly, wanting to get away from the bad memories of the day Draco found out about Pansy. He involuntarily shuddered, realizing his family was much more fucked up than he cared to think about.

"I work in the Auror office," she said vaguely, knowing it was bound to come up sooner or later, but hoping he didn't pry.

"With Weasley and Potter?" he asked, but his voice had more than a hint of venom.

"Yes, I am their secretary, Ron's to be exact…" she faltered over her friends' name and he noticed, one of his eyebrows cocking up curiously.

"Are you friends with Mr. Weasley?"

_Moment of truth_, Lacey thought to herself. As she looked across the table at Lucius, she suddenly felt the urge to not lie, to just be honest. She knew that there was no point in getting around her connections to people he despised and hoped that if she was honest, it wouldn't seem suspicious.

"Sort of, I am close friends with his sister, Ginny. She and I played on the Harpies together before we all got let go. And I work at her brother's shop when I am not at the Ministry," she explained and he listening intently, his face going noticeably dim at the mention of Ginny's name.

"I do hope you don't disclose to Ms. Weasley that you have seen me. I daresay it would make her upset and I have done enough harm to that poor girls' life," he said with a voice full of sadness and clarity.

"I won't if don't want me to," she promised, although she knew there was no way to keep it, "You may not remember this, but I was there the day Ginny got that diary. I was shopping with her family. We've been rather inseparable our whole lives."

"Although I think Mr. Potter is still an arrogant arse and your boss is quite a fool, what happened with Ginny is something I have always regretted," he said with sincerity, looking meaningfully into her eyes. One of the reasons Lacey never thought she could convincingly do this job was because of what he had done to Ginny. Yet, he seemed so full of sadness about that one moment in time that she couldn't help but put the issue off of the table when it came to him and her and the job she had to do.

"You know, she was raped down there…_Volde_…Tom, I don't know…I just, I wanted you to know that," Lacey said, sniffing in emotion. It wasn't something that many people knew. Mrs. Weasley didn't even know it. Only she and Harry did. She wasn't even sure if Sirius would ever find out. Lucius looked down at his now cold food, "Yes, unfortunately, I did know that."

"Oh, right. Of course you would," Lacey nodded, hit with the unpleasant feeling that even though one large issue was being discussed already, there was still the fact that he was a former Death Eater, and of course the mark would still be on his arm. She wasn't sure if she could ever handle looking at it.

Lucius suddenly reached out and took her hand lightly from where it had been resting on the edge of the table, "I didn't mean to bring up something so horrible. All I mean was that I have no ill will against your friend," he said it stiffly and formally and Lacey nodded in reply.

Trying to put a smile on her face she asked, "Erm, Lucius?" she scratched the back of her chocolate brown hair that had now frizzed slightly with the proximity to the fire and he looked at her, curious, "I can't figure out why you asked me to dinner, or why you would even be interested in getting to know me."

He looked away from her, studying the dancing fire for a moment, "As I said before, it has been a long time before a woman has asked me to dance, stepped purposefully on my feet, argued with me, and walked away from me in a period of five minutes. You made _quite_ an impression. Call me a masochist if you like, but your actions that night had the opposite effect of what I am sure you intended."

"How can you be so sure I wanted to upset you?" she tried her best to flirt, and found that this time around, it was easy for the words to leave her lips, "I accepted your dinner offer after all…although I am slightly overdressed for the occasion," she motioned to her outfit which gave Lucius a moment to graze his eyes over the fabric and what was beneath it.

"You look stunning Lacey, and next time I won't make the same mistake," he was bolstered by her flirtation and squeezed her hand gently before pulling away, "May I take you home?"

Lacey blushingly looked over at the bed, "So you had no intention of ever making use of the room?"

"I don't know what you have heard about me, Lacey, and I can hardly fault the fact that there are rumors, but I do prefer to be a gentleman when at all possible," he said and got up from the table, helping her up as well. Lacey panicked. So many emotions were coursing through her body but she tried to act unaffected as they left the room.

"I actually live really close by, we could walk," she offered to stall for time. He took her arm in his and soon they were out on the dark alleyway, all the shops closed up for the night. It was quiet between them, but it was a comfortable silence and Lacey led him up the stairway on the side of the apothecary to her apartment.

"This is it," she said, embarrassed as they stood in front of the door, but he said nothing about it.

"Thank you for the company Miss Delaney. I do hope we will be seeing more of each other," he gave her a heart-stopping smile that showcased a completely different side of his handsome face and brought her hand to his lips to kiss gently. She nodded he agreement and he let her fingers slip through his. She fumbled for her wand and unlocked the door, hesitating on the threshold as he watched her from the top stair.

Both sets of icy eyes locked for a minute and Lacey hardly knew what came over her when she had thrown herself against him, her wand lying forgotten on the floor, and kissed him hard. He was surprised at first, but soon one of his hands was soon buried in her thick brown hair and the other cupped her cheek as he kissed her back.

"Oh fuck, I am so sorry," Lacey giggled in embarrassment, her body humming as she pulled quickly away from him.

"Is every word out of your mouth a dirty one Miss Delaney?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips. She shrugged helplessly and he began to descend the staircase.

"Keep it that way, it's rather charming," he said over his shoulder and she couldn't tell if he was joking. She hurried into her apartment, locking the door and nearly hyperventilating.

_I just snogged Lucius Malfoy. Hard. Without being forced to. I just lept on him. What the hell is wrong with me? I just enjoyed my bloody night with him. Oh…oh no Lacey, this is not good. This is not good at all…_

She kept talking out loud to herself as she went about her apartment, fussing and straightening pillows out of anxiety before collapsing onto her only partially made bed.

_You were just getting into character Lace, that's all. You are just doing a really great job,_ she tried to convince herself and reason out what had just happened, but before she could think of any logical explanation, she had fallen asleep.

**A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this! What do you think will happen next between Lucius and Lacey? Will Fred find out? Please review!**


	6. Jealousy

**A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get it up! Drop me a review or a pm, I would love to hear your thoughts!**

**~o0o~**

It was only nine thirty when Narcissa felt the small vibration, a sensation that meant the wards had been crossed but not in a menacing way. Lucius was home. She had managed to sneak away during his absence for dinner with Remus but didn't stay long, unsure of how long Lacey would manage to keep him. She frowned as she double-checked the time; it was quite early still.

She wrapped the pale green robe tighter around her body, tying the sash loosely, her hair spelled up into a tight chignon at the top of her head as she made her way out of her bedroom and down the long corridor on the second floor of the manor that connected one wing to another. Draco had his own space as well, but after the incident with Pansy, he had all but moved out and thankfully found solace in the arms of the red-headed Miss Greengrass, whom Narcissa was rather ambivalent towards. But since, to her best knowledge, her husband hadn't _fucked_ her son's fiancée, she couldn't ask for much more. Besides Draco, it was rather unspoken that the left wing of the house was Narcissa's to do with what she pleased, and the right belonged to Lucius. It had been that way since they were married so long ago, but never quite kept to in the same way as when she found out about his adultery. She tried her best to push back the little voice in her head that told her she was doing the same exact thing as she walked to the door of his study and knocked twice.

"You may come in," she heard her husband's cold voice and pushed in the door. He had a fire going and was sitting by it in his favorite black leather chair with a tumbler two fingers too full of scotch. She kept her distance but made her way around to the front of the chair so that he could see her, longing for the warm countenance of her lover as she gazed upon the impassive blonde before her.

"Is everything alright husband? Usually your dinner meetings run so much later…" she feigned a careful and cautious curiosity, knowing full well he had been on a date with Lacey, and desperately wondering if it had all gone sour.

"Usually, but tonight, no," he replied in a clipped manner, swirling the scotch around in the glass before taking a long sip. His eyes were dark, the irises nearly a royal blue at the edges, which, in Narcissa's experience, never boded well for anyone involved. She watched him carefully, the wetness from the alcohol shining on his lips and reflecting the firelight, his posture stiff even though he had arranged himself in a relaxed position, his jaw set tight.

"Lucius, if you…"

His eyes darted up to hers and he set his scotch down gently on the table besides the chair, rose in one swift movement and with one stride he was close enough to have a hand on the back of her neck and one on her hip.

"Stop with your inquisitions, _wife_," he said before kissing her with bruising force. Narcissa was completely thrown; she stumbled back but it couldn't tear Lucius away from her. His palm was going to leave a handprint on her thin hip and with a few steps backwards, she felt her spine meet the wall of the study.

"Bedroom. _Now_." He hissed this in her ear, his tone threatening and she managed to slip away from him. It was implied she go to hers and wait for him and when the door was shut behind her, Lucius ran an agitated hand through his hair.

"_Fuck_," he sneered, his hand reaching down to touch the aching erection pressing against the fabric of his trousers. Ever since he had returned to the manor from the doorstep of Lacey's apartment he had been turned on and confused, and now…out of pure desperation for touch, he had complicated the entire situation further by involving Narcissa.

But he knew fucking her would be better than having to explain anything else, or suffer through her probing questions and imploring looks. _And_ it would help him stave off his desire for the minx of a girl that he had just parted from-a girl he wanted out of his mind but couldn't manage to shake. Everything about the evening had been odd. He had gotten emotional within moments, nearly showed caring for her best friend, and treated her better than any other woman he would have brought to the Leaky.

Because there was a reason Lucius asked for the room with the biggest bed there. Yet, when she brought it up, he acted like a gentleman and didn't go through with his plan.

_A gentleman_, he scoffed to himself, wondering what had come over him. There was a time, long ago, that Lucius played the part of a gentleman and courted Narcissa like any respectable pureblood would. Could he possibly be reverting to such behavior for a random little witch that he knew nothing about? A Gryffindor with a foul mouth and a clumsy disposition? It nearly made him sick.

But he was so overcome with lust from the kiss that she had given him that he couldn't think straight. His mind was far too clouded. He wished desperately that Severus was still around; to talk to him or talk him out of this, and the pang of the loss of his best friend stung just enough to sober Lucius from the turmoil of emotions raging a war in his body.

Pushing all thoughts of the curvy brunette out of his mind, Lucius walked determinedly to his wife's bedroom on the other side of the manor.

**~o0o~**

"Oh Merlin, _fuck _Sirius you are a bastard," Ginny cursed but soon the sound coming out of her lips was one of pure pleasure as he twisted her nipples hard between his fingers. Sirius moved back to kissing her, pressing his body against his girlfriends' lithe little one and moved his fingers from her nipples down her stomach.

The two loud knocks on the door of Grimmauld place interrupted them from going any further. Sirius has placed a spell on the door to amplify the sound of any knocking to alert them throughout the large house, and he was currently cursing at himself for doing so. He cast a quick Revelio.

"It's Narcissa," he said, pulling away from Ginny and sitting up on his bed, his arousal already fading at the thought of his cousin.

"It's eleven _fucking_ thirty, what does she want? I swear she has the _worst_ timing!" the red-head before him crossed her arms and fumbled around the dark room for her discarded shirt. She slipped it on and Sirius pouted-which was met with a _you-could-have-had-more-if-she-wasn't-here_ glare from Ginny and both of them begrudgingly got off the bed; Sirius transforming into Snuffles as they hastened down the stairs when Narcissa knocked again. Sirius knew his cousin hated when he was around her in his Animagus form, and anything he could do to piss her off for cock-blocking him was fair game in his eyes.

Ginny wrenched open the door and Snuffles got up on his hind legs and pawed at her eggplant shift dress.

"Sirius, you are disgusting. Hello, Ginny, is Remus here?" she asked and the tone of her voice was very far from her normal cool and lilting one. She sounded tired and a bit raspy as she pushed herself inside, Snuffles trailing at her heels as she tried to shove him away with her feet.

"He's out. Sirius and I intimated that we might need some alone time, so he made himself scarce. I don't know where he went," the red-head looked up at the Malfoy with her eyebrows up and her jaw set. It didn't take long for Narcissa to catch the reason behind the woman's anger and she was thankful when Sirius transformed back his much more agreeable-_to her, at least_-human form.

"Can I talk to you alone?" he said sharply from behind her and Narcissa jolted at the tone of his voice but nodded. Ginny mumbled something about making tea and promised to be back in his bedroom when he was done. When the cousins were alone, Sirius led Narcissa into the library and locked the door, finishing with a powerful silencing charm.

"What is it?" she asked bitingly, having had a moment to tune her voice to the correct level of ice queen that she had perfected over the years.

"You smell like him."

"Pardon?"

"Don't play dumb Cissa, you _reek _of him. You were really going to come over here and talk to Remus and expect him not to smell Malfoy on you? He's a fucking werewolf! And it was powerful enough from a dog's point of view…" Sirius was livid. He was happy for the rekindled relationship with his cousin, but he was and always would be a Marauder for life and Remus came first, "It's late, I am trying to be alone with my girlfriend, and it doesn't make sense that the night your husband has a date with a woman _you set him up with_, that you fuck him. Alright?"

"Don't tell Lacey…" Narcissa pleaded in barely a whisper.

"I won't tell Lacey because you are going to tell her yourself. You asked her to do this because you want to be with Remus, and you really aren't acting like it!" Sirius continued to berate her but she stood calmly, never letting her perfect posture sag under his words.

"He wanted me. I can't tell my husband no. We aren't divorced yet. He came home earlier from the date than I thought he would and I went to try and judge his temperament. He pushed me up against the wall and…"

"_Enough_. Just get out and don't come back till you've washed his stench off of you alright?" Sirius demanded coldly. Narcissa nodded and left. The entire night felt like a blur to her and she felt cold and desperate and longed for Remus' calming touch even if she couldn't admit to him what she had done. He always made her feel warm and whole again, but Sirius' words were true and she had been irresponsible thinking that he wouldn't have noticed. A few moments later she was sneaking back to her room in the manor again and shedding the traveling dress in favor of a soft white nightgown. She crawled into bed and noticed just how strong the scent of Lucius was there. It had only lasted a few intense minutes, but it had ruined Narcissa's night and left nagging thoughts in her head about her husband and her lover until she finally succumbed to sleep.

**~o0o~**

It had been three whole days since the date and on the fourth morning with no owl or correspondence from Lucius and very clipped and distant conversation from Narcissa, so Lacey decided to approach the day with a new attitude.

She was tired of wondering if she did something wrong on her date with Lucius or if the kiss was too forward or not good enough. She hadn't even seen him around at the Ministry and the insecurities made her perform poorly at both jobs.

But it wasn't until she thumbed through the latest copy of _Wizard Weekly_, the best rag magazine in the wizarding world that she decided to jump into a new approach head-on.

As she sipped at her steaming hot coffee and rubbed her toes at the bottom of her cushiony slippers, Lacey's eyes alighted on the Engagement Column and particularly on a name she was all too familiar with.

_Quidditch Star Oliver Wood and longtime girlfriend Katie Bell got engaged this weekend in front of a small group of family and friends_, the small snippet read, joined by a picture of Oliver looking chuffed as Katie kissed him on the cheek.

One tear fell down Lacey's face as she came to the startling realization that Oliver hadn't been fucking a bunch of slaggy fans, but rather just one girl…a girl he had then proposed to. A girl he probably still would have proposed to even if she hadn't kicked him out. She was, once again, the other woman. With a quick _Incendio_ she sent the magazine up into flames on her kitchen table and went to get dressed as the ashes smoldered there.

Even though Narcissa had been uncharacteristically cold towards her the last few days, she felt a pang of sympathy for the woman. She knew exactly how she felt…thinking you were serious with someone, at least in some sense, and finding out they wanted someone else more. It made her mad at herself for falling for Lucius' charm on only the first date. She reminded herself that even though he had apologized, he had still aided in almost killing her best friend, used dark magic of an unthinkable caliber, and had followed the foulest and most destructive evil wizard of all time. Not to mention he was a cheater and liar.

_I will not fall for Lucius Malfoy. I will not fall for Lucius Malfoy_, Lacey repeated as a mantra as she got dressed for the Ministry in a simple black dress that hugged her curves. She charmed her always slightly fly-away hair sleek and put on some berry coloured lipstick.

If she needed to be a man-eater, then she would be, because as far as Lacey was concerned, she had nothing to lose and Lucius needed a swift kick in the arse for not acknowledging her after a perfectly nice date, if nothing else.

As she glanced at the pile of ashes on her kitchen table before leaving, Lacey vowed that nothing would stop her from breaking his heart. Her emotions had already gotten out of hand once so far, but she would not let them do so again.

**~o0o~**

"Mornin' Lace!" Ron said brightly as he stopped by her desk. She was already hard at work on a screening process for one of the new Auror's he and Harry were thinking about hiring and looked up to give him a small smile, "You got some correspondence, caught the little bugger on the way in," Ron placed one of the charmed paper airplanes that the Ministry used for inter-office correspondence on her desk and went into his office, leaving Lacey to contemplate the squirming little piece of paper. It wriggled until she unfolded it, and she noted her name printed neatly on the side of it. When she smoothed it out on her desk, her eyes scanned it quickly-taking the few words in within a mere second.

_Lunch today?_

_-L.M._

"Fucker," Lacey whispered under her breath as she reached for her quill and scribbled a reply underneath his masculine handwriting. Hers was loopy and crooked, and she made it purposefully more messy than necessary with a self-satisfied smirk.

_I think you would be hard pressed to find any woman that would accept such an offer after three days without so much as a word. I was under the impression you were a gentleman._

_-Lacey_

She folded the paper back up into its previous airplane shape, tapped it with her wand after retrieving it from her desk drawer, and with a quick throw into the air, the little plane flew its way out of the Auror department.

After two meetings and listening to a rather disgustingly lovey-dovey conversation with Ron on his mobile (Harry's idea…_muggle technology has its advantages_…he had said), the same paper airplane found its way back to Lacey's desk, crash landing on a pile of documents. Her nerves spiked when she unfolded the now slightly crinkled paper and skipped down past the first two notes.

_And I was under the impression you were a girl. So you must be exempt. Dinner then?_

Lacey grabbed for her quill too quickly out of anger at his comment and accidentally blotted a large spot on the plane, but continued anyway.

_You are going to have to try harder than that, Mr. Malfoy. Have a pleasant day._

She sent the thing on its way again and soon found it was time to head over to Diagon Alley, which she was thankful for. She didn't know if she could spend the rest of her afternoon answering Lucius' notes and she put a quick charm on her desk that would prevent any further correspondence from him, if it landed there, to be opened.

**~o0o~**

When Lacey ventured over to Grimmauld after her shift at the joke shop, she immediately wished she hadn't upon stepping over the threshold into the house. The first thing she heard was the prim voice of Hermione, but she couldn't exactly turn back when Sirius saw her and with a threatening look that nearly begged her to come endure the torture of a dinner with Granger with him, she followed him to where a bowl of pasta was set out in the middle of the long kitchen table and Ginny and Hermione were eating at one end of it.

"Oh, hey Lacey!" Hermione said rather brightly, which confused the taller girl, as Hermione was usually rather standoffish with her. She looked happy, and was slightly tanner than when she last saw her.

"Hey, so you had a good trip with Charlie I take it? Lasted _quite_ a long time…" Lacey made awkward conversation as she plated up food for Sirius to keep her hands busy.

"It was wonderful! _So_ beautiful, I can't wait to go back!"

"Back?" Ginny nearly choked on a piece of pasta with a horrified look on her face, "My brother must be insane…"

"Insane? He's _perfect_, he said he had such a wonderful time that he wanted to take me back as soon as I could have some time off from work again. Fantastic isn't it? Oh, Sirius? Is Remus going to be joining us for dinner?" she asked, curiously, no doubt dying to rattle off the details of her lover's getaway in front of him.

"He's not feeling well, actually, so no," Sirius said, without much sympathy and Lacey jumped on the opportunity before Ginny could.

"I'll take him a plate!" she said, relieved, ignoring Ginny's murderous glare as she served up some pasta on a dish and grabbed him some pumpkin juice, taking her wand out of her back pocket to levitate both things behind her, "See ya later Hermione."

Lacey sighed as she closed the kitchen door behind her, noticing how it did nothing to block out Hermione's voice and started to make her way up the stairs to Remus' room when she noticed the library door was closed and light was emitting from under the crack. She changed directions and knocked softly on the library door before entering.

"I don't blame you for hiding again, can I join you? I have food…" Lacey tried to give Remus an encouraging smile as she levitated the pasta and drink down towards the table by him and he took it eagerly. Little did she know that Hermione had been there for hours already, occupying the kitchen and any chance he had to get food.

"Thanks, Lacey, really," he smiled up at her as he dug in. Lacey settled down into the green armchair next to his and they sat in companionable silence as they ate.

"Is everything alright with Narcissa?" she asked after a while and Remus perked his head up, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

"I haven't seen much of her to be honest, but I do know that her papers already have quite a few of the required signatures needed and so far, it looks like Lucius is none the wiser," he practically beamed and Lacey let her heart feel happy for him, even if she didn't know if she believed in love anymore herself.

"When I've talked to her, it seems as if she is angry with me. And every night when I've come here, she's never here…I mean, I haven't heard much from Lucius after the date, but I really don't think it went that bad…" Lacey voiced her fear and Remus pushed his empty plate away and with some impressive wandwork, transfigured the armchairs into a joined small couch. He turned his body so that he could face her more, and wasn't blocked by the high backs of the armchairs. Lacey pulled both of her legs onto the couch and tucked them underneath her body.

"I am sure it went fine, but are _you_ alright? I saw the bit in that dreadful gossip magazine Ginny subscribes to about Oliver…"

Lacey couldn't really say she was shocked. Remus was an intelligent and intuitive man, and even though she had kept her relationship from Oliver fairly private, it wasn't a secret.

"Not really right now, but I'll be fine. Just a bit jealous," she admitted.

"Understandable. Hell, I am jealous of Lucius on a near daily basis, and when Hermione comes around, _Merlin_ help me, I feel pathetic. I don't really like to share, and I think I am even worse than Padfoot in that regard…" Remus cracked a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head for a moment, "But jealousy is normal, in any type of relationship."

She couldn't fault his statement and it was one of the reasons why she couldn't see herself in a relationship anymore. She hated comparing herself to other, tinier, thinner girls when she was the one that meant the least to the man involved.

Remus and Lacey talked the remainder of the night, long after Hermione left. She was glad she had him as a friend to confide in about the whole ordeal with Lucius and he gave her a helpful, male opinion on the entire thing.

Around midnight when Narcissa stepped through the Leaky's floo into Grimmauld's, she was met with a silent library. She paused to dust off ashes from her skirt and began to move towards the door to head to Remus' room. But when she heard a slight snore, she turned and found Lacey sleeping soundly in Remus' arms on a couch whose back was towards the fire. Remus was also sound asleep, so much so that his heightened senses hadn't even alerted him to the presence of another in the room. She noticed a half empty bottle of mead on the table in front of them and a plate of something looking like it used to be pasta and sauce. She saw Lacey cuddled peacefully in his arms, and she saw green.

**A/N: Uh, oh, someone is jealous! Do you think it is all a misunderstanding? Do you think Narcissa has any room to be upset? What will Lucius do to see Lacey again? I would love a review!**


	7. Rule Number 3

**A/N: Thank you to all my lovely readers. I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Lyrics from Marina and the Diamonds. **

**Rule number three, wear your heart on your cheek**

**But never on your sleeve, unless you wanna taste defeat**

**~o0o~**

Narcissa took ten deep breaths. With each one, she counted slowly up to ten and then with a sharp and agitated flick of her wand, she magicked the ottoman directly behind her so she could sit and stare at Lacey and her lover until someone woke up. She didn't care if she had to stay all night.

She barely had to wait until she moved to sit when Lacey's eyes flicked open, her body startled from the scraping of the furniture moving rapidly across the library floor.

"Oh, hey Narcissa," she smiled sleepily at the woman across from her, who looked like she had just been slapped in the face at her casual response. Lacey didn't move an inch from Remus, who was slowly waking up. She didn't feel she needed to, not even with Narcissa giving her a look of death. She felt no guilt and didn't see the need to jolt across the couch to prove anything to the blonde in front of her.

"Cissa…" Remus murmered, his voice thick from the deep sleep he had just been in and nervously pushed Lacey off of him, a sheepish expression on his face. Lacey glared at him and then moved to pick up the dirty dish and glasses, eager to escape the awkwardness that made the air in the library barely breathable. Narcissa stared at her manicure while Lacey fumbled with the dishes and quickly excused herself, nearly running across the hallway to the kitchen. She dumped the dishes in the sink and went about cleaning them without magic. She found that the cold water was helping her wake up, and she would rather be miserably sleepless for the rest of the night than in the grumpy state between deep sleep and awareness.

She has just finished drying both glasses when a womanly cough made her turn and lean back against the kitchen sink. Narcissa was standing by the kitchen doorway, alone, and her eyes were glinting with all the venom of her past as a snake, "Can we speak?"

"'Course we can," Lacey shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but she had to admit the woman was a bit scary at times. She really didn't know how she and Ginny got along so well, "Something wrong?"

"Yes. The fact that you were lying across my lover's chest sleeping…"

"Oh fucking hell," Lacey groaned, rolling her eyes, "Look, _Mrs. Malfoy_, I came over to see if you were here so we could talk about that whole thing I am supposed to be doing with you? Remember? How I am supposed to be helping you get a divorce and yet I haven't seen you or him in days. Hermione was here and Remus was basically starving to death so I brought him some food, he gave me some advice, and we must have fallen asleep. I assure you that I was not cuddling with him on purpose. I have known him a lot longer than you have and he is just a friend, okay? Do you think I would be doing this asinine mission to seduce your husband if I wanted Remus? Merlin help me!" Lacey ranted, pacing back and forth, arms crossed tightly against her chest as she eyed the stately blonde looking completely out of place.

"Hermione was here? Again?" Narcissa ventured.

"That is all you took from that? Really?" Lacey stopped her pacing and stared the woman down. She could be imposing when she wanted to, what with her height and her ice blue eyes. While they were usually much more welcoming than Lucius', she could turn them just as cold as his seemed to perpetually be.

"I don't like that she comes here."

"Well that is something you should be talking about with Sirius, or Remus, alright? And in Remus' defense, he hid from her the entire night. They never even saw one another," Lacey explained and with the new information, Narcissa looked visibly less tense. She moved towards the large kitchen table and took a seat.

"I am sorry for being so harsh with you Lacey. I don't know what has come over me," Narcissa sighed, touching her temples lightly with the pads of her index fingers and then loosening her chignon to let her hair cascade down her back. Lacey thought the woman looked prettiest like this, when she wasn't so prim and uptight looking, "If for one moment I haven't seemed grateful that you are doing this for Remus and I, then I am sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Clearly," Lacey sighed, pulling out a chair and taking a seat opposite her, "I really don't know if my date with your husband went well or not…" she mumbled, a little embarrassed of calling him Lucius in her presence and she didn't know why. Maybe it was the wedding ring shining up at her in the moonlit kitchen.

"It went well," Narcissa nodded.

"How do you….?"

There was a pregnant silence between the two women and Narcissa tapped out an erratic song on the wood with her sharp nails.

"Can you answer me, please?" Lacey asked, agitatedly.

"Because we had sex Lacey," Narcissa snapped her head up to look the younger woman in the eye, hissing the secret between her teeth, "Whatever you did to the man had him so worked up that we…we had sex…I didn't want to but…" Narcissa was only partly lying. She loved Remus but she couldn't help but admit something in her husband's eyes made her harken back to the times when he did lust after her. Part of her still wished he wanted her.

Lacey placed both of her hands on the table and raised herself up, biting her lip. Her stomach was doing backflips more advanced than the moves she practically coined on the Harpies, and she didn't know why. Was she actually jealous that the woman in front of her had sex with her husband? When she thought about it, it seemed silly.

But, her emotions were still boiling to the point of combustion inside of her, "How fucking selfish are you? Do you want him or do you want Remus? This is just some kind of game to you isn't it?" Lacey raised her voice until it had almost a hysterical edge to it.

"No, no, this is not a game. I swear it to you. I couldn't tell him no!" Narcissa stood up to once again be eye level with Lacey. Her eyes were flashing. "I tried telling him no once and…"

"So you've been fucking him this whole time?" Lacey asked, in disbelief. She tried to casually move her hand towards her hip where she had wedged her wand in between her skin and jeans before leaving the library.

"Yes, I have, what was I supposed to do Lacey?" she looked suddenly helpless and disheveled as she threw her pale arms up in the air.

"Um…use your words?" Lacey spat caustically, "You dragged me…a complete stranger…into this mess because you wanted to divorce him. Um…last time I checked, you don't fuck someone you want to divorce! Remus is a good man, and he doesn't deserve this...you haven't changed from the snake you used to be have you?"

"_Relashio_!"

"_Levicorpus_!" Lacey fired back just as quickly, drawing her wand simultaneously and the anger inside of her made her spell much more powerful than it normally would have been. She allowed herself a smirk when the usually flawless form of Narcissa Malfoy was dangling upside down from her ankles in midair, trying to hold down her skirt.

"I'm still going to break your husband's heart, but you better not break Remus,'" Lacey threatened before leaving the kitchen. She felt the tingling of magic as she passed through the kitchen door and realized Narcissa must have cast a silencing spell. Lacey was grateful for this, as the conversation probably would have sent Remus over the edge. She walked back to the library and poked her head in, seeing Remus reading once again, "Your girlfriend needs a little help in the kitchen. Goodnight Remus."

**~o0o~**

Lacey was thankful for Wednesday, as it was the day she didn't have to go into the Ministry. Although she was curious if any little magicked airplanes were sitting on her abandoned desk from Lucius, she didn't give it more than a few second's thought as she pulled on her other work uniform and walked down the side staircase of her apartment to the already bustling Alley. She was happy to be able to work all day at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and gave her bosses a genuine smile when she came through the back door.

"In a good mood today are we? One never knows with you…" George teased as Lacey made her way to the counter, pulling her long hair up into a messy ponytail and blowing some shorter strands out of her face.

"I am so not the bitch you make me out to be George. So what, I asked off a half-hour a few days ago, all of you need to get over it," she simply said before turning to a girl with an armful of Wonderwitch products and quickly ringing her up.

"But we are so curious," George continued, "You are like our second little sister…"

"I know," Lacey replied, "and trust me when I say I am not involved in any illegal activity…but this is just something you wouldn't want to know as an older brother," she finished and gave a smile to the customer before giving her full attention to one half of the infuriating pair.

"And now I am even more curious…"Fred joined the conversation as he leaned against the front of the counter, effectively trapping Lacey in between them, "Come on Lace, tell us where you went. You've been so off…is little Ronniekins straining you at the Ministry?"

"Ha, no."

"Well was it a date?" Fred asked, his voice a bit lower and his twin caught the worried look in his eye.

"It may have been but it is none of your…"

"What the hell is Lucius Malfoy doing outside of my shop!" George interjected and Lacey and Fred's heads whipped around to see the blonde-haired man lingering suspiciously outside of the shop, maybe just a few meters from the entrance. Lacey could feel her face flushing and she wriggled out from the confinement of the twins and moved out towards the shop floor, trying to straighten anything and everything she could as George and Fred decided their plan of attack.

"I'll just march outside and say that there are no former Deatheaters allowed outside our shop!"

"And I'll tell him to take that can and shove it up his arse!"

Lacey kept her ears trained on their conversation, but watched Lucius through the window. He seemed flustered and agitated as he lingered and paced outside of the shop and she finally couldn't take it anymore, "Oh for the love of Circe, if you two are going to be such cowards, I'll go talk to him!" she groaned. She knew Fred and George were no such thing, but something in their eyes keyed her into the fact that they must still be slightly wary of the man. It gave her the perfect excuse to finally talk to him in the flesh and she was out in the sunshine in a second, standing before the gorgeous and imposing man.

"Why the bloody hell are you here?" Lacey asked, locking eyes with him. She was glad she only had to tilt her chin ever so slightly to meet his eyes, for she was sure that if she were shorter, she would feel even less confident in his presence.

"Miss Delaney can you please refrain from spitting venom for two seconds?" Lucius asked in an utterly bored voice.

"Sorry, I should have given you the chance to do it first…seeing as I am sure you are an expert at it. Probably comes second nature…" she ranted and he grabbed her harshly by the wrist, leading her out of sight from the large windows of the shop to one of the darkened spaces on a few paces wide in between the establishments lining the Alley. Lacey crossed her arms and willed her heart not to beat so fast.

"That is a hideous jumper…" he drawled.

"Why are you here? And why are we standing in a dark shadowy corner? Because that's not weird or anything…"

"I am trying to avoid prying eyes on our conversation…like those belonging to whichever Weasley twin is smitten with you. Forgive me if I can't tell one idiotic fool from another," Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Lacey asked, finally lowering her voice as passersby were giving them odd looks. She pulled a bit at the lumpy orange jumper. All of the employee jumpers were knitted by hand by Mrs. Weasley, and they were comfy but none too flattering.

"Remind me to add this to the seemingly endless list of reasons why you are a girl, Lacey," he smirked down at her, and she shivered at her given name leaving his lips again and hoped he didn't notice, "One of those gangly red-heads was practically panting for your attention."

Lacey was still confused but Lucius was glad he had seen the way the boy looked at his new little obsession. At least he would know what to watch out for, "And as for why I am here…I had to find some way to see you since you seemed adamant about not going out to lunch. And I must be a desperate man if I willingly came to stand outside this ridiculous joke shop."

He said it in a way as if to imply he wasn't desperate at all, merely goading her. But Lucius knew he was borderline desperate and it inwardly bruised his ego.

"Yes you must be. Well if that is all…" Lacey sighed, trying to hide the way her voice caught out of nerves. Once again, Lucius' hand was on her wrist to keep her from moving away. He didn't hold here there painfully, but his grip was strong enough to keep her.

"Not all. Dinner tonight? I won't take no for an answer," he asked and meant it. There was no way he was going to let this hellion of a witch turn him down when he had left work to stand in front of something own by two Weasley's.

"No." Lacey formed the word slowly and loudly, giving him a flirtatious smirk. She could see his jaw set and his grip on the snake head of his walking stick tighten, "Oh, what's the matter Mr. Malfoy, not used to hearing that word?" she nearly laughed at his expression.

"Don't. Fuck. Around. With. Me. Little. Girl," his eyes were a cold, dark blue as he stared at her and the grip on her wrist tightened uncomfortably. Half of her was scared and the other half was ashamed to be turned on by the look in his eye and the deep, angry staccato of his words.

"Call me a girl one more time and I won't go to dinner with you," she narrowed her eyes back at him, challenging him, trying to fake that he didn't have the upper hand, when clearly the tingling between her thighs told a different story. He released her wrist immediately and straightened his posture even further.

"I will be at your poor excuse for a living situation at 7," he nodded curtly at her and with a swish of his immaculate robes, was gone from her as Lacey stared at the brick wall that he had just been leaning against, listening to the fading click of his walking stick against the ground.

**~o0o~**

Lacey was a mess the rest of the day. Lucius had put her nerves on edge ever since she walked back into the shop and had to face wide-eyed Fred and George and lie to them that she had dragged him to the side of the shop and threatened to hex his dangly bits off if he so much as came within 20 meters of the place ever again. They seemed pacified, but their lack of further inquisition did not sooth her anxiety.

On her break she managed to send a note to Sirius and Ginny letting them know her plans for the night, so at least someone would know she was still following through with her end of the bargain. She really had no intention of talking to Narcissa for a while but she figured someone should tell her that she had the night free to do with Remus whatever she wished. If they were even still on speaking terms.

At the end of her shift she walked to her apartment like an Inferius and pulled all of her new clothes out of her closet and tossed them onto the bed, pacing back and forth in front of the pile as she chewed her nails unbecomingly. It had all been easy and fine for her to ignore and maintain the upper hand on Lucius when she wasn't face to face with him. She had steeled her resolve to break his heart and talked herself into hating him. Yet when she was looking into his eyes, her body had the complete opposite reaction of her mind.

Her mind wanted to scream at him, and her body wanted to submit to him. She had never been more scared of one single person. When she glanced at the clock, she realized in a panic that she had wasted away most of her time worrying and that said person would be at her doorstep soon. She quickly got dressed, managed to make her hair a little bit less messy, and made do with very simple makeup. It was mere minutes later that there was a knock on her door.

With a shaking hand, Lacey reached for the knob and found Lucius looking aggravatingly more handsome than she had ever seen him look in the short time of being in his presence. He was without robes and wearing a perfectly tailored grey suit that only enhanced his eye color more. The suit jacket was unbuttoned and the first two buttons of his white collared shirt were undone as well, which Lacey hardly though was a fair play. His hair was loose, shiny, and perfectly platinum as usual. His smirk that leaned to the left side of his face only added to the look.

"You look breathtaking," he complimented her, and it was the first time all day she had heard a genuine sincerity in his voice. His eyes were unapologetic as they raked over her curvy form in the emerald green dress she was wearing.

"Thank you, you look nice," she managed without blushing furiously and he raised one eyebrow at her as she slipped out of the apartment, eager for him not to see any more than he needed to, although she saw him fight for a glance at the inside before she closed the door.

"That is the best you can give me? Nice?" he asked, amused as he held her elbow and helped her down the steps leading from her apartment.

"Dashing then," she conceded and although he tried to hide it, a smile played on his lips when they hit the last step.

"We will have to work on your vocabulary," he told her, walking with her to one of the designated apparition points at the end of Diagon.

"My vocabulary is just fine you pompous arse," Lacey grumbled under her breath, but he still heard and smirked at her indignation. In reality, he planned on adding only a few choice words to her vocabulary tonight; mainly a breathier version of his name followed by expletives he knew she was well familiar with.

After a hasty and uncomfortable side-along apparition, Lacey opened her eyes to see that they were standing in front of one of Wizarding London's finest restaurants. A place even she on the night of a winning game with the Harpies could never get a table at. They walked right into _Nox_, the unsurprisingly most dimly lit restaurant Lacey had ever been in, which only made it more romantic, and the maître-de seemed thrilled to see Lucius. The well-dressed man asked Lucius if he wanted his usual private room, which made Lacey's eyes expand even wider and soon they were led to a small but beautifully furnished room lit with floating candles. The maître-de left them and Lucius pulled out Lacey's chair for her and she sat down, nervously smoothing out non-existing wrinkles in her dress as he took a seat opposite her.

"Nicer than the Leaky?" he asked.

"Much, if you like this sort of thing…"

"Oh, are you one of those girls that loathe the finer things in life in favor of starving to make sure their morals and souls stay intact?" he asked before a waiter joined them and Lucius ordered a ludicrously expensive bottle of elf-made wine.

"Hardly, but I've just never been in a place as nice as this is all…" Lacey admitted, still surreptitiously looking around the room as the wine came and two glasses were poured.

"Well, you should start getting used to it," Lucius suggested coolly, and although Lacey's eyebrows raised in surprise a bit, she didn't say anything more about it, "She'll have the leg of lamb and I will have the filet, rare," he continued when the waiter was poised for their order. As soon as the man was gone from the room, Lacey started in on him.

"Ordering my food for me? Really? Did you come out of your mother's womb a chauvinist, or is this a more recent development?" Lacey asked with a demure pout on her face before taking a sip of the unfortunately delicious wine. She had to resist the urge to take a following gulp of it.

"Just trying to be a gentleman, Lacey," he looked across the table at her and she suddenly felt very small, like a child being scolded. There was a long silence between them, each of them taking alternate sips of wine. Lucius spent the pause studying the curve of the apples of her cheeks, her full lips, and her collarbone. Lacey spent the same time mentally yelling at herself for being such a bitch.

Lacey was about to open her mouth and apologize when two plates of delicious looking food were set down in front of them and it was all so perfect that she tried to harden herself again and avoid his eye contact, "Wined and dined by Lucius Malfoy…" she sighed.

"You make it sound like a stint in Azkaban," he sniffed, carving into his steak.

"No, it's just I wonder how many before me have sat in this exact same chair."

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Goad me about my past mistresses you exasperating little witch. Yes, there have been many sitting in your same seat, but none of them have complained about it," he snapped at her.

"Is this a game to you?" Lacey continued. She knew she was in hot water with him if his grip on his silverware was anything to go by, but the more she was able to push him away, the easier it would be to not fall for him.

"A game?" he asked, his voice deadly smooth and his expression blank.

"Yes, a game, Lucius. To see how many willing witches will go to bed with you? To prove to yourself and your wife that you are still a powerful and charming wizard, even though they all only tolerate you because of how much of your money you give away to repent for your sins?" Lacey's voice shook, and as with most things she said to the man, she instantly regretted it. She knew, in the back of her mind, that she was placing anger she had for Narcissa on him, but it was too late.

"It is amusing how much you think you know about me Lacey," he answered after a minute, during which time she watched his face turn from pale to red and back again.

"I clearly know some of the truth, otherwise you wouldn't be so angry."

"I am angry because you ask far too many questions, especially since this is a date…"

"On dates, usually people get to know each other, that is what I am trying to do," she claimed.

"You don't get to know someone by forcing your unintelligent theories onto their character," Lucius sneered at her, although the accuracy of her statement was so close to the truth that it had chilled his bones.

"How many of them have you actually loved?" Lacey continued. She didn't know why. She was pinching her bare thigh to keep herself from talking but the words just kept flowing out of her mouth. She had always been too curious for her own good and now it was getting her into a mess she wasn't sure she could get out of.

"Pardon?" Lucius looked at her darkly, setting his jaw.

"How many of the girls who have sat right where I am did you actually love?"

"Two."

"Oh," Lacey couldn't help but express her shock. It was two more than part of her thought and many less than the other half hoped for, for his sake.

"Now Lacey you will answer my question. Do you ask this because you are rude and purposefully trying to vex me, or do you ask because you are wondering if there is ever a possibility that I will feel that way about you?"

Lacey's cheeks, already a soft rose color from the wine, flushed a darker raspberry shade and Lucius had his answer.

"As sweet as the sentiment behind that nonsense is, do not push me," he threatened her and Lacey immediately knew she had lost the upper hand. She had let herself once again get carried away in his presence and revealed far too much of her body's reaction to him.

In the interlude, as Lacey tried to recover what was left of her dignity, Lucius passed on dessert and discreetly paid with more galleons than Lacey paid for rent. He helped her out of her seat and led her out of the restaurant. When Lacey felt the tug at her navel, she thought they would apparate back to her apartment, but when she opened her eyes, Malfoy Manor loomed before her.

"I thought we'd have a nightcap," Lucius said, answering her unasked question as he led her into the manor. A house elf appeared immediately, inquiring about what the master of the house would like.

"A glass of the reserve and a scotch in my room when you can," Lucius said and the little creature was gone again. With a firm hand in the crook of her right arm, he guided her up the breathtaking staircase to the second floor and turned right. They walked past many closed doors, some double and embossed with the Malfoy crest, until they reached a door at the end of the right wing. Lucius placed his palm against the door and it granted him entrance.

Lacey tried to not let her mouth hang open. She had never seen the essence of a person so perfectly put into a room. It was large-a huge master bedroom with an ensuite bath through a separate doorway and another for his clothes. The basis of the room was dark wood flooring, a small arrangement of green velvet covered chairs surrounding a fireplace next to a small wet bar. There was a large window with a windowseat absolutely covered in green and black tufted pillows and two long, black curtains covered the windows for now, only letting a sliver of moonlight slip through, as the rest of the room was lit with enchanted, ever-burning candles, giving it a soft glow.

The bed was the last thing that Lacey alighted her eyes upon, and it was magnificent. Compared to her shabby twin bed, she would give anything to roll around in the bed before her. It was a pitch black, wood four-poster, intricately carved. The bed could easily sleep three and was covered with the most luxurious looking blackened emerald silk sheets. It looked like heaven, even if it was in hell's den.

Her unwanted awe of the room was interrupted by the same house elf delivering their drinks. Soon a glass of rose-coloured wine was placed in Lacey's hand and Lucius raised his an inch in a silent toast before taking a drink. She sipped at it, once again besides herself that it was so delicious. When she turned, she saw Lucius sprawled casually out on his bed, sipping his scotch and watching the fire dance in the fireplace.

"I should maybe go…" Lacey said, starting to become more than a little flustered. Although she had gone into the night knowing this might happen, and had prepared for it, now that she found herself in the situation, she was nervous.

"Why would you leave Lacey? We've had a nice evening."

At this Lacey snorted, completely un-ladylike, "Look, we both know that I completely fucked up that dinner, and I'm sorry."

The blue eyes she loved to hate were on her again, "Well, we have the rest of the evening to recover."

"Uh…" she said unintelligibly, heat pooling in her stomach from his damned eyes, "Could I use your restroom?"

"Of course my dear, right through the left door," he gestured to it, looking completely unfazed as he leaned even further back on the bed. She took one last look at him, trying to memorize how good he looked in his perfectly cut suit just lying there like the aristocratic millionaire jerk that he was. She scampered into the bathroom and quickly locked the door behind her.

"Balls," she cursed, looking around at the black marble bathroom. It emitted the prettiest glow from the candles surrounding the claw-foot tub. She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink, taking in the sight of a confident-looking girl that was absolutely falling apart on the inside. She briefly considered apparating home, but knew he probably had powerful wards up otherwise they wouldn't have apparated to the front of his grounds. She then considered taking the puking pastille she kept in her purse for emergencies. But no, that would be disgusting. Lacey panicked, fanning herself unsuccessfully with her hands to bring herself down from and imminent panic-attack and after a few moments, she was able to talk herself back into fulfilling her original plan. She downed the glass of wine she had set on the bathroom sink and then slowly took her dress off. Underneath was the black corset she had bought with Ginny, laced perfectly in the back and finished with a pair of lacey panties. She kept her heels on and swallowed hard as she mustered the confidence to walk out of the bathroom.

_Lacey…be a heartbreaker. Don't let him think he has the upper hand. He's had it all night. He means nothing to you._

She reached for the handle and pulled the bathroom door open, walking as sexily as she could manage towards Lucius, who was still arranged seductively on the bed , although she stumbled a few times in her too-high heels.

"Well, well, well, what is this?" he sat up, set his scotch glass down and smirked at the girl approaching him. Lacey fumbled for words and soon her mind went completely blank as Lucius edged off the bed, standing before her. He put one hand on her waist, right where her corset nipped her in, and took a step forward. When she didn't take a step back, he made the first move and kissed her hard, nearly crushing his lips against hers but she didn't make him force entrance. Once his tongue was entwined with hers, his rhythm slowed to a sexy, practiced dance that made her breath catch in her throat. She didn't even realize they were walking backwards until her back hit the wall.

"It is so endearing that you thought you would be in control tonight," he whispered in her ear, giving her a reprieve from his addicting kisses, "Are you normally in control in the bedroom Lacey?"

She hardly wanted to answer him as she was furious that her entire, seemingly full-proof plan had gone to shite in a few seconds, but he pressed his hand insistently against her waist.

"Yes," she breathed out and at her reply he pressed his body closer to hers. She could feel the stirrings of his erection against her lower stomach. Suddenly, his hand was in her thick, brown hair and he pulled it hard, making her arch her back so he could kiss up the curve of her neck. When he released his grip on her hair, she slapped him across the face.

Although she tensed after she did it, and his right cheek was red from the hit, a smirk played on his face and reached his hand to cup her sex in her panties. With mortification, Lacey realized she was wet.

"You liked that, didn't you?" he teased her. Lacey hardly knew what to do, as it was taking all of her willpower not to grind into his warm palm. She had never had anyone be rough with her in that way. She always took the lead…but this was different.

His hand snaked from her pussy, up along her corset and back into her hair, grabbing the strands and poised to yank again.

"No, I didn't Lucius, please," she glared at him, basically eye-level in her heels, but the whimper in her voice betrayed her.

"You want me," his smirk grew at the realization and the satisfaction of her arousal.

"Fuck you,"

"Oh you will," he tugged at her hair again and kissed her hard.

**A/N: I was going to continue with the lemon but we will save that for next chapter, so please review if you want it badly and I will comply! Hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Control

**A/N: This chapter is rated a strong M. I don't know how I feel about it, but it's out there, so love it or leave it. Picking right up from where we left off. Thanks for all the reviews guys, they helped get this out faster than anticipated, so keep it up!**

Lacey tried her best not to succumb immediately to Lucius' touches, but his threat that she would end up fucking him, whispered so close to her ear that it made the small baby hairs on her neck stand on end, was really testing her limits. She matched his kisses with equal intensity, but there was something about the way his mouth moved against hers that was sinful. She had never met a man who knew how to kiss _that well._ His right hand was kneading her hip, with enough force that she could feel it under the thick corset and boning, and she knew it would leave a hand-shaped bruise in the morning, if not sooner. And yet again, such a fact caused her to shiver pleasantly. When his grip on her hair tightened and it seemed as if he was trying to lead her away from the wall, Lacey wrenched herself away from him, causing her scalp to scream at her and her body to protest at the sudden lack of touch.

"What are you doing?" Lucius asked lowly, nearly growling as he matched her step for step when she backed away from him.

"We need to stop, no, _I_ need to stop…" she was half talking to him and half herself as her hand met the knob of the doorway and tried to turn it.

But his hand was on her wrist before it could swing open, his ice blue eyes trying to silently convince her that it was worth staying. Lacey hardly needed convincing, though.

"Why are you so eager to leave? After all, you were the one that started it. You can't just dangle your body in front of me and not expect for me to want it," he leaned over and whispered into the shell of her ear and she let herself close her eyes, enjoying his voice which radiated pure, raw masculinity.

"Are you afraid of me Lacey? Are you afraid of this?" he backed away, arching an eyebrow curiously, slightly less intently, but his grip was still secure around her wrist. Lacey swallowed back a swell of emotion. She didn't want to do this for the wrong reasons and yet she had to if she wanted to come out of this unscathed. Narcissa had promised it would never get this far. It was supposed to be so easy and uncomplicated.

Summoning all of the courage in her body, Lacey looked Lucius straight in the eye and admitted, "I am so fucking scared of you."

And then she let herself go.

She pressed her lips hard against his mouth and he welcomed her back greedily, wrapping one arm around her and the other slackened its grip on her wrist and she reached up to run a hand through his blonde hair. Lacey grabbed a fistful of it and pulled hard, eliciting a grunt from him that helped to further soak her panties.

Lucius froze when he realized what had happened, only for a split second, but he was shocked. Never in any of his sexual experiences, with any of his mistresses or Narcissa had they ever dared to touch him in such a way or attempt to be rough with him. And although he had to admit, if nothing else by the sound he involuntarily made, that he liked her feistiness, he needed to be in control. Lucius didn't know what a life since the war without control meant. He had been too vulnerable far too many times with Lord Voldemort, and he vowed to never let anything or anyone have a hold on him like that again. Pansy Parkinson had almost succeeded, but he soon left her for his own sanity, and for the sake of his broken household. He would be damned if he let it happen again.

"Impertinent, little slut…" Lucius hissed and Lacey didn't stop, she just kept fighting for control with her kisses down his neck and her hand cupping and squeezing his erection over the fabric of his trousers. The pair stumbled over to the bed and although she fought valiantly against him, which only proved to make his erection strain against her touch more, he was able to grasp both of her wrists and tug her arms over her head as he pushed her down on the bed. Lucius could see it in her eyes that she hated being out of control, and smirked at her, which only caused her to squirm underneath his body in the most delicious way.

"If I let go of your wrists, will you promise to be a good girl and not move?" he asked.

"For the last bloody time, I am not a _girl_ and I certainly won't be a good anything Lucius," Lacey answered breathily and he immediately noticed the change in her when the sentence was out of her pink, swollen lips. She had stopped struggling underneath him. He cheeks were flushed a beautiful rose color and her voice was sexy, with only a hint of the sass that had been apparent a few minutes ago. Her breasts heaved under the confines of her corset and he gently moved her so that she was fully on the bed, letting go of her so that he could climb on top of her and straddle her body.

Although he wanted to see her out of her lingerie and finally lay eyes on the creamy, lithe body that had haunted him since he had first seen her at the ball, he decided to first undress himself. Lucius twitched his neck so that his blonde hair fell back over his shoulders and took his hands to his dress shirt. Skipping deftly over the first two undone buttons, he popped the rest open between tortuous intervals until Lacey could see all of his chest and stomach. It was perfectly muscular but not too defined, and she ungracefully let her mouth drop open a little bit at the realization that his body was turning her on even more, and that he looked damn good for a 51 year old man. Lacey knew at that moment, although she suspected she knew well before, but now it was tangible that she was in deep shite.

"I get that a lot, actually," Lucius smirked infuriatingly at Lacey's slightly agape mouth.

"_Fucking bastard_!"

"What did I tell you about that foul mouth of yours?" he asked, shrugging off the shirt fully and throwing it casually to the floor. Lacey was about to smart-off with a retort but her eyes found the Dark Mark on his forearm and she became quiet. It brought her back to the reality of the situation. She had completely forgotten in the midst of being teased and tortured by this handsome man that he was actually a horrible one. Yet as her eyes darted from his tattoo to his face, her body continued to betray her. Her panties were uncomfortable from being so wet and her nipples were sore from being so hard and rubbing against the tight corset. Something had to give, and although she knew she would have a stern talking to with herself in the morning, she gave him a smile and asked, "Are you going to fuck me or are you just going to stare at me Lucius?"

"And that is precisely why I like that dirty, little mouth," Lucius murmured before reaching for the corset right where her cleavage pushed together enticingly and with some force and another grunt, he managed to tear the black fabric in half, so it parted into two frayed pieces and left a river of her pale skin between. He snaked a hand gently up her stomach, flattening his palm over her belly button and continuing to pull the material away from her body to that he could cup her large breasts in each hand. He squeezed them lightly, watching the way her two little pink nipples poked out rebelliously between his fingers before weighing them possessively, watching them rise and fall with her now rapid breathing as she tensed herself for him to do more. Her blue eyes watched his every move intently and he was glad for it, taking his time with the touches and enjoying her soft moans when he moved away from her breasts, brushed a few fingers against the sensitive skin right above her lacy panties and then moved his hands back to himself.

As Lucius removed his pants, making the act look graceful despite the awkward positioning, and she finally saw him in just black boxer briefs, Lacey propped herself up on her elbows. When he made no move to pull down the briefs, she reached out to the waistband and he slapped her hand away.

"Curious because you've never seen one before?" Lucius asked, with his perfected, patronizing tone.

"Shut the fuck up," Lacey rolled her eyes and tried again but was met with a hard slap of his hand on her right breast, causing the pale flesh to instantly redden and her breast to jiggle. She couldn't help but enjoy her body's unexpected reaction as her back slightly arched, tearing her away from the bed for a moment, before she fell back.

"Speak to me like that again and it will be worse," he threatened as Lacey stared defiantly back up at him.

"Prick," she broke into a wide smile, with zero maliciousness behind it and a small giggle. Although a small part of Lucius found her beaming face and how she cutely bit her lip to keep from laughing sweet, he roughly hit her other breast before quickly moving both of his hands to her hips and turning her over. His hands reached under the front of her thighs and pulled, bringing the lower half of her body onto her knees while her breasts were still pressed against the sheets. Lucius brushed her long curtain of messy brown hair off of her neck and with one finger traced her spine all the way down her back, hooking it under the lace of her panties when he met them, and tugged them down until they were taut between her knees.

When he moved over her and placed a hand on each of her wrists, spreading her arms out above her head, she clutched the bedding in between her fingers and whimpered when he pressed the bulge in his briefs against the cleft of her arse. His hair tickled her back and neck as he covered her body with his, grinding harder against her.

"You look so good like that," he whispered into her ear and she made a nearly incoherent sound before pressing her body back against his erection.

Although Lucius desperately wanted to savor this moment, his control on his body and emotions was nearly gone. He left his right hand on top of hers, holding her down on the bed, and quickly took himself out of his briefs, sheathing himself inside of her without warning. He didn't even give her a moment to adjust to his size and coarsely pulled out of her and thrust into her again, bringing his free hand to play with her pussy lips, tweaking her engorged clit every time he left her body so that she was never without sensation. Lacy writhed gauchely against the bed, and with every push of his hard cock into her wet sex, she moaned his name a little louder and little less understandably, until the only distinguishing marking of her cries for him was the 'L' rolling off of her lips. Everything else turned to panting. He stretched her insides and reached two wet fingers, doused in her juices, up to her nipples to pinch so hard she screamed into the mattress. Lucius was unrelenting as he pounded into her over and over again. He watched her white-knuckle the blankets, close her eyes, and beg him for more wordlessly as he felt the tell-tale deluge of wetness against him as he pussy clenched tightly around him. With a low moan, he thrust into her harder, reaching for her hair and gathering it into a makeshift ponytail to tug onto; he pulled and grunted his way to climax, forcing the fingers of his other hand into her mouth so she could taste herself, and then immediately collapsing on top of her when he was finished.

They lay breathless for a moment before Lucius rolled off of her, kissed the back of her head, and swung his legs of the bed. Lacey heard both of his feet hit the ground and pad somewhere else in the room. She closed her eyes, tried to ignore how good the sheets smelled from their coupling, and didn't let herself think of anything besides the present moment. She knew there would be more than enough time for that later.

The familiar sound of a cigarette being lit comforted her, and her breathing finally slowed against the sheets. She almost drifted off when the bed indented besides her.

"Lacey?" his voice was slightly different than usual and she rolled over, looking up at him between strands of her hair. He lowered the cigarette down from his lips, offering it to her, but she denied it. Somehow, she felt that smoking in that bed with him would be much too intimate, even though he body craved it. She and Oliver had always done it.

Every once in a while she would glance up at him between bouts of closing her eyes, lying sleepily at his side, naked and curled up. He didn't touch her and didn't look at her, just finished his cigarette as his cold blue eyes focused on some unknown object in the room before putting it out and lying down next to her. One touch of his palm on her shoulder was all he gave her before rolling over to face away from her.

A few hours later, Lacey woke and was thankful that it was still the middle of the night. She checked to see just how asleep Lucius was, and upon finding the Adonis of a man with his mane of blond hair resting perfectly against his cheek snoring lightly, she crept out of bed.

In the darkness she managed to put on her dress, found the scraps of the corset and her wand, shrunk the former with the latter and stuffed it into her purse, and grabbed her heels. Before she snuck out of the room, she took her panties from the bed and gently pressed them into Lucius's half-open palm. She froze when his hand closed around the lace scrap, but his steady breathing didn't break. With the rest of her belongings, she slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

She walked quickly and quietly down the hallway, desperate to get out of the Manor without any interruptions, when she saw a figure coming down the hallway opposite her. Lacey stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, clutching her heels to her chest, knowing that she didn't have time for a disillusionment charm and even if she did, she would drop her heels reaching for her wand in her purse.

"Astoria?"

It was a male voice, and it sounded angry, but only slightly like Lucius'. Lacey didn't know what to say, but he was upon her in seconds. Both of their eyes adjusted in the dark hallway, lit only by a few sconces every so often, and Draco Malfoy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh Merlin, sorry, thought you were someone else," he said, running his hand through his short, platinum hair.

"It's alright, I thought you were someone else for a moment…" Lacey admitted, and indeed she had before he had spoken and she realized it was a man's voice. She dreaded the thought of running into Narcissa post-shag.

"My mother, I'm sure," Draco tried to make the tense situation less awkward, but they were both too busy basking in their relief to really care, "Can I help you out?"

"Please," Lacey sighed and he led the way until she found herself once again on the ornate staircase, heading towards the double doors. The entire time she was avoiding his eyes. She didn't want him to remember her as anything more than another one of his father's mistresses, but Draco had other things in mind. When they reached the door, he touched her hand lightly and stopped her from going.

"You are sleeping with my father," he said. It was a statement, not a question, not that it could be. The evidence was all there. Lacey nodded, "Does he know you are running away in the middle of the night?"

"No."

"He won't like that."

"I don't care," Lacey crossed her arms, "Who is Astoria?"

Draco visibly stiffened, "My fiancée."

"Oh."

"Exactly," his voice was slightly bitter, slightly jealous, and altogether concerned. If she was being honest with herself, Lacey was starting to become annoyed with the Malfoy emotional whiplash.

"So she's sleeping with him too?" her voice betrayed her real feelings. She had spoken before she could get a grip on herself and her voice sounded just as jealous, if not more so.

"I don't know. I don't…_fuck_, why am I even telling you this…go on, get out," Draco was right back into embodying the entitled brat he had always been at Hogwarts and without a backwards glance, Lacey was out the door, running as fast as he bare feet would take her to the edge of the gate, and then she apparated home.

**A/N: What did you think of the sex? And Lacey running into Draco? And okay, I know I promised there would be some Remus/Cissa etc, but since I have mapped out more of the story, the next chapter will be more centered on them. Hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Scared

**A/N:** Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews and love. I want to thank **onecelestialbeing **for being just amazing and **VenusInHerHair** for supporting this story so much, even though she is the best at Lucius/OC stories…seriously go check her out. Also, I want to thank my friend, and only male reader (that I know of?) **Benkins** for always helping me brainstorm. Love you guys.

**~o0o~**

"Remus, I love you," Narcissa's breathing had finally returned to normal as she lay in her lover's arms. The top of her head rested on his stubbly cheek and his expression was one of absolute shock, although she couldn't see it. They had been telling each other that they loved one another for a while now, in complete earnest, but since they had been together their sex hadn't truly reflected that. Remus knew she was sexually repressed after being dominated in the bedroom by Lucius for more than half of her life, and let her take control with him. Although it was a new sensation for him, he grew to thoroughly enjoy it, although he suspected if it involved her in _any_ way he would have enjoyed it. The few days before the full moon, she took the submissive position. It had worked out nicely for the pair.

But tonight they had made love. They were equals in their coupling. It was slow, tender, and full of passion and love. Suddenly their relationship seemed so much more fragile, and both of them could feel the weight of it in his small bedroom.

"I love you," he whispered back, trying to hold back the emotion in his voice. He had always been the most emotional Marauder, but he was not about to let Narcissa see him shed a tear. He ran his fingers through her soft blonde hair for a moment before sitting up and finally looking at her beautiful face once again. She looked ten years younger, and was positively glowing, smiling from ear to ear as she pulled the bed sheets up around her, "How much longer?" he asked.

"One more month. Everything is almost set. My advisor just has to draw up a contract for divvying the assets. Then I tell him. And then it's over," usually her voice shook whenever she talked about presenting Lucius with divorce papers, but not this time. Remus ran his hand up and down over her smooth arm. For the last few weeks, things had been rocky between them, but Remus had chalked it up to the stress of Cissa sneaking around her husband.

"And then we can finally go out in public. I can't wait to be able to take you out to dinner like a normal couple, to…"

Naricissa placed her finger on his lips, and he shut them, turning them up into a smile as she kissed him sweetly, "I'll buy us a house. Wherever you want."

"No," he said suddenly, but not harshly. He had no intentions of ruining the blissful moment, "I will buy us a house, or rent us one, whatever I can come up with. I won't live on Lucius' money. You can do what you want with your share, but when it comes to us, I want to do it the old-fashioned way."

She sighed, mock-exasperatedly, but then kissed him again, "If it makes you happy then I am happy, but I have to go…"

He hugged her closer to him, "Stay, please for once just stay Cissa. Lacey hasn't come back. You won't be missed."

"Remus, darling, the sun is almost up," she smiled at him, "I've stayed almost the whole night," and it was true, the darkness outside the window was fading in favor of very early morning light, "One month more Remus, then you won't be able to even drag me out of your bed for breakfast."

"Have a lovely day then," Remus told her, pressing his lips to hers and running his tongue over her bottom lip, kissing her hard to show her exactly what she would miss for the rest of the day. She gave a small, sad groan as she pulled away and kissed him on the forehead before getting dressed and walking out of the room. He watched her go, his eyes drooping with sleep and a crooked smile on his face.

It wasn't as blissful across the hallway.

"Wake up Ginny, Cissy's awake, come on, go offer her some coffee or something…" Sirius nudged his sleeping girlfriend, even though his eyes were still closed. He had heard her dainty footfalls on the wood floor, and figured it was morning time. Ginny smacked him with her arm before propping herself up on the bed and looking for the clock.

"FUCK Sirius it's _bloody fucking four in the morning_! Are you kidding me? She can get her own damn coffee!" Ginny nearly shrieked, wide awake now and staring murderously down at the curled up form of her Animagus boyfriend. She hit him hard on the back and he finally opened his eyes.

"Sorry love, I just assumed…"

"You just _assumed_? Since when did I become her personal house elf? In case you haven't forgotten, you spent most of your adult lives hating each other. And now that she and your best friend are shacking up, you suddenly adore her? _Oh my cousin this, oh my cousin that_. I am bloody sick of it! And by the way, her demented sister almost killed ME and sent you through that Veil and thank Merlin for Hermione that she got you right back out. Can you imagine? And yet you just worship the ground she walks on…." Ginny ranted until she was red in the face. Sirius sat up, his expression stony, yet he let her continue.

"She may be blood, but you have other family. Remus is family, and Harry is, more than anyone else, and I a…" Ginny paused before she could complete her thought, blushing.

To her massive disappointment, Sirius completely ignored her almost comment, "Ginny you need to stop being so angry at Narcissa. She's done nothing to you…"

"Yeah except take over your house, wake me up at all hours, and prevent me from doing anything whatsoever with you. You're right Sirius, she's done _nothing_…" Ginny pouted and got out of bed, slipping on some pants.

"Gin, what are you doing? Come on…"

"_No_. Maybe I should have been the one to go seduce Malfoy instead of Lacey. Maybe then you'd be paying more attention to me!"

"Ginny stop it. You are being completely immature about this," Sirius nearly growled at her- his voice was so deep and angry. Ginny looked like she was about to burst out laughing in response.

"_Immature? Me?_ The immature one? Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me. Why don't you go get up and make your darling cousin some breakfast? I'm out of here," she threw on a shirt and some shoes and stormed off.

After staring at the open doorway for a moment and wondering if she would come back, Sirius heard Narcissa's voice resound in the fireplace downstairs, a large, theatrical groan from Ginny, and a subsequent pop of dissaparition. He groaned and fell back onto the bed, pulling the covers over him.

Unfortunately, he was only granted 15 minutes of reprieve when there was a violent bout of knocking on the front door. Sirius cursed foully, rolled out of bed, dragged a hand through his disheveled hair, threw on some pants and took the stairs two at a time until he was pulling open the door and finding himself face to face with Lacey.

"I hate women, I bloody fucking hate them," he grumbled.

"Nice to see you too," Lacey rolled her eyes, not waiting to be invited in and brushed past Sirius, "_GIN I NEED YOU_!"

"Keep it down witch, do you know what time it is?" Sirius' eyes looked as if they were about to bulge out of his head.

"Yes, I do, it's an emergency, where is she?"

"Dunno, left a few minutes ago. We got in a fight…" he replied sheepishly.

"Fuck, REMUS! REMUS _GET DOWN HERE_!" Lacey yelled, panic-stricken, before bolting into the kitchen. Sirius rubbed his eyes, exhausted, and followed her.

"Please explain to me what is going on."

"Only if you get copious amounts of firewhiskey and Remus and meet me in the library. I'm going to make food," Lacey said, whipping out her wand and already levitating food items towards her as she reached for a pan. Sirius was dumbfounded, and once again his eyes found the clock: 4:37 a.m.

"You are psychotic, I hope you know that," he grumbled, but not before grabbing a bottle of unopened firewhiskey and three tumblers before heading into the library.

Under ten minutes later, Lacey was opening the library door with a plate piled precariously high with cheese toasties. She had changed from earlier, popping home to put on some loose fitting jeans and a casual white v-neck, and thrown her hair up in a ponytail. She didn't want to look like she had been shagged, but she had been hoping for a much different audience in Ginny, to maybe help quell the utter fear that was building up inside of her. Instead, she had two annoyed and sleepy Marauders, but she would take what she could.

"This is all very concerning to me…" Sirius continued when he saw her again but Remus moved from his armchair and rescued the plate of sandwiches before they toppled onto the ground. He set them safely on the low table and gave Lacey a long, confused look.

Lacey plopped down onto the floor, forgoing the furniture, crossed her legs Indian-style, reached for the firewhiskey and poured herself an enormous glass and took a cheese toastie in one hand, beginning to munch on it. She completely disregarded the looks both men were giving her until Sirius reached for a glass.

"Fuck it, I've never started drinking this early, but there is a first time for anything," he said, pouring himself and a reluctant Remus a glass. After a mutual 'cheers' and some sips and devouring of toasties, everyone was starting to look more awake, and Lacey was even contemplating telling them what happened, although she was just thankful for the company. Something about the strange, erotic night made her feel that if she slept, she would dream about it. She wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

"Drinking contest," she decided suddenly. Her brain was rapid-firing. Part of her wanted to get so drunk that she couldn't even remember the way Lucius' hands felt on her, despite the fact that she had work in a few short hours.

"Lacey, slow down, what is this all about?" Remus asked, reaching an arm out to stop Sirius from pouring shots of whiskey, "Stop that! _You too_!" he felt like he was babysitting two small children and failing at it as the girl and his best friend shot back the whiskey. Lacey didn't even cough.

"I will drink you under the table, I guarantee that Black," Lacey challenged, purposefully ignoring Remus and his frown. After one more, admittedly feeble attempt to stop them (what had now become a real game, both were on the floor, opposite each other, the bottle between them, taking shots quickly), Remus sat back and watched. He had what he wanted in life…Narcissa…and if it meant being up at quarter to five watching his best friend and former student attempt to outdrink one another, then that wasn't much of a problem.

"So, what happened tonight little Snake Charmer?" Sirius asked, setting his glass down. Fifteen minutes had passed and the clock in the hallway chimed eerily. Lacey slowed down and didn't reach for the almost empty bottle. Her head was delightfully warm, her stomach and throat faintly burning, her body loose. She was sure she had a ridiculous smile on her face, but Sirius looked just the same. She could handle her liquor, even more so than a Weasley. Her older brother and Irish father had taught her well, and even Sirius was impressed.

"Well, I charmed him alright…"

"And? How was it? Is he a completely fucked up kinky bastard?" Sirius asked, genuinely curious and Remus groaned.

"Pervert!" Lacy declared and Sirius didn't even try to deny it.

"Not what I wanted to happen, _not at all_, come on children, enough of the whiskey…" Remus said gently, reaching to take the bottle. Sirius beat him to it and hugged it possessively to his chest like a stubborn baby, "Lacey, for the sake of my sanity, do not answer that question."

"Oh shut up Moons, you are next. We want to know all about you and Mrs. Malfoy…" Sirius fell back on the floor with his bottle, guffawing like it was the funniest joke in the world. Lacey, although happily buzzed, still had her wits about her.

"Oh Merlin Sirius, you've lost your touch. I won't answer it Remus, don't worry. I was hoping Ginny would be around to discuss the details with but…maybe, maybe you can give me some advice?" she asked him. He was her second choice after all and his expression softened. He had been concerned about her ever since she had shown up.

"Of course Lacey…" Remus promised, but he knew Sirius would be a total distraction and he looked over at his best friend who was just now extracting himself from his curled-up laughing position on the floor.

"Really Lace, I need to know. Think of the blackmail possibilities!" Sirius announced, like he was surprised he had never thought of it before.

"Maybe another time, Sirius, okay? Sorry for drinking all of your whiskey, I'll buy you another bottle," she promised, but the man was already leaning up against the side of an armchair, eyes drooping.

"'Course, love," he winked at her, and seemed almost ready for more sleep. Remus got up for a moment, returned with two hangover potions. He gave one to Sirius and handed one to Lacey before leaving the near-delirious Marauder to sleep.

"Never a dull moment in this house," Remus chuckled as he led Lacey back into the kitchen. He busied himself with wiping off the empty toastie plate as she sat down at the long table, "What happened?"

"Besides the obvious…I thought the date went horribly. All I did was yell at him the entire time for reasons I am not even sure of…and when it came down to it…well, Remus, I know this is personal but were you scared of being intimate with Narcissa because she is so different? She used to be so…so…" Lacey struggled with the words but her loose tongue betrayed her, "Evil?"

Remus turned around from the sink with a sad smile and took a seat facing her, "Neither of the Malfoys…and not even Draco really, are evil. They all did some horrendous things, but I do think people can change. I believe Narcissa certainly has. But to answer your question…yes I was scared."

Lacey nodded, blushing a little bit. Although she was nearly a quarter of a century old, Remus saw the small child, nearly joined at the hip with Ginny Weasley, in his DADA class in her second year.

"She's mad at me, you know…"

"I figured as much when you left her hanging by her ankles in this very room," he chuckled softly, "Care to explain, as she didn't…"

Lacey wasn't surprised that Remus didn't know much about the altercation, but she would not give everything away, "She was really upset that we fell asleep together on the couch," she admitted and Remus just nodded, knowingly, and let her move on, "Remus…I saw his mark and I froze…"

Remus sighed deeply, closing his eyes and counting to ten in his head. At that moment he hated himself for what he had forced this young woman to do for him, "I am so sorry Lacey, if you want to walk away, please, I am fine with it. I will deal with Narcissa, you've done plenty…"

"No!" she said quickly, shocking both of them, "No, I'm not going to give up. It's not so much the mark, it's that I left him, in the middle of the night obviously," she added apologetically, "and I am afraid he will be really angry…"

Lacey normally was not afraid of any man. Sirius and his crude, cavalier ways hardly made her flinch. The twins couldn't even pull a prank on her anymore. It was precisely the reason that she was so scared of Lucius, because she was so unfamiliar with the feeling.

"If he lays a finger on you in that way, I will put him right back into Azkaban Lacey, I swear it," Remus said calmly, but with a deadly serious edge to his voice, "But I don't think he would…" She felt thankful towards him, and with a smile showed him so. She hadn't seen her family in ages, with them being in Ireland, and her not having the money to do so since she got let go from the Harpies. His reassuring look made her miss her father fiercely.

"Thanks Remus, really. I'll let you go and get a few more hours of sleep and maybe put the dog to bed?" she laughed and so did he, "Sorry for barging in like this…"

"Anytime Lacey," he let himself finally yawn and pushed away from the table, "Get home safely" he gave her a small hug and then headed back to the library. Lacey quietly let herself out, and as she stood on the porch, she thought about what Remus said…that he didn't think Lucius would physically hurt her. As much as that thought scared her, how rough he was with her in his bedroom, pulling on her hair, was something she could never admit to someone like Remus that she actually _liked_.

**~o0o~**

"Lacey, this place is so posh!" Ginny complimented her best friend, clearly impressed as she sat down at the two-person table by the window of a swanky eatery a few blocks away from the Ministry. Lacey smiled back, looking much better than she felt inside, having only a few hours' sleep, but quickly buried her head in her menu.

"Are you going to ignore me after you invited me to lunch?" Ginny probed after ordering two glasses of wine for them from the attractive waiter, "And you are wearing makeup…interesting…"

"I work now. At a real, paying job at the Ministry of fucking Magic, so yes, I am wearing makeup now. Do you want to shut the hell up Gin?" Lacey snapped. She felt bad immediately, but she was on edge for a number of reasons. The highest on her list being the little purple date book she kept flipping open behind the menu. She had magically pasted shrunken versions of Narcissa's copy of Lucius' datebook and put them in the girly book to carry around in her bag. She eyed the inscription again:

_12 o'clock_

_Adella's_

_Draco_

It wasn't much to go off of, but still, Lacey glanced at one of the trendy, sans-numbers, clocks on the wall. They still had a few minutes.

"Testy today aren't we? Are you on the rag or something? You are acting like such a bitch…but wait, that's normal," Ginny giggled, putting down the menu and staring Lacey directly in the eye. Lacey noticed her best friend looked a bit worse for wear at the moment as well.

"Ha, ha,"Lacey rolled her eyes, mouthing her laugh out exaggeratedly, "So, where did you sleep last night, since you weren't at Grimmauld…"

"When were you at Grimmauld!?" Ginny asked, her eyes going wide and signaling she was guilty.

"Around 5 in the morning, ring any bells? Your boyfriend…oh ick, I hate saying that Gin…come on we need a new name for him…anyway, Sirius said you guys got into a row about something," Lacey pursed her lips, giving her friend her very best 'I am Molly Weasley and I know you are about to lie to me' impression.

"Shit. Yeah we fought. Remember how you called Narcissa a Death Eater Bitch? Yeah, I'm jumping on that bandwagon," Ginny sighed, winking at the waiter when he brought their wine, "Oh look, speak of the Devils and they shall appear…"

Lacey turned her head and saw Lucius, in a grey suit, with Draco trailing behind him, in a similar black suit. They had left their robes behind and fit right into the fancy, expensive muggle restaurant. Lacey tried to hide behind Ginny, but it hardly worked seeing as she was nearly a foot taller, but the way they were seated, Lucius never came anywhere close to being within her eyesight. However, when they sat down, Draco was facing her and a look of instant recognition dawned on his face.

"So this is why you brought me here… to spy on him?" Ginny whispered, although they were out of earshot entirely.

"No I wanted to talk to you Ginny, let's just have lunch. But yes, Narcissa did want me to 'create' moments of opportunity," Lacey explained. Although Narcissa hadn't explicitly said any such thing, after the night before, Lacey couldn't help herself and the mere fact that he was within a fifteen foot radius of her made her heartbreak skyrocket.

"So, like shagging in the restroom?" Ginny giggled, nearly besides herself. Lacey was starting to understand why she and Sirius got on so well.

"You've been ignoring my question, where did you go last night?" Lacey redirected the conversation as she kept a light eye on the back of Lucius' head and tried to simultaneously avoid Draco's stare. It wasn't an easy feat.

"To the pub with Harry and Ron," Ginny continued, trying to pass it by her friend.

"At 5 in the morning? Try again," Lacey didn't miss a beat. She didn't practically grow up a Weasley for nothing.

"I crashed at Harry's place…"

"Mhmm, okay, Sirius is going to just _love_ that," Lacey sighed, taking a pause to order pasta and hand over her menu, leaving her exposed and helpless.

"And we can talk about that later, so, since you are the color of Luna's radish earrings, why don't you tell me how the sex was?" Ginny raised and lowered her eyebrows salaciously.

**~o0o~**

"How was your outing with Astoria last night?" Lucius asked his son, trying to sound interested, but he was rather bored. They had scheduled lunches once every two weeks at the same restaurant in an attempt to 'bond' after the incident with Pansy. Some days were better than others.

"Fine, Father. She went back to her place rather early, and I stayed at the Manor," Draco replied, glancing over his father's shoulder at the brunette a few tables away that was avidly avoiding his eyes.

"Oh, you did, I didn't notice…" Lucius shrugged. Draco wanted to roll his eyes but refrained and tried to lean casually to get a better glimpse of the girl.

"Draco what in Merlin's name are you staring at?" Lucius snapped impatiently and Draco rose distractedly from his seat, brushing off his father and walked coolly over to Lacey and whom Draco had correctly guessed solely from the back of her head alone, was Ginny Weasley.

Lucius hated staring in public, it was so ill-mannered, but out of curiosity he turned himself in the chair so he could follow Draco's path and found him stopped in front of a table containing a rather surprised looking Lacey Delaney. His heart immediately dropped into his stomach. When he had awoken with only her black panties in his hand and a faint indent of her shape on his bed, he was both furious and turned on. The sight of her was presently causing more of the latter, much to his dismay, as her pretty, glowing face stared up at his handsome son. He felt a pang of jealousy, but it was sobered when he noticed the profile of her lunch companion. The little nose and straight fiery hair told him instantly that it was Ms. Weasley. Guilt overtook him and he turned back to his drink for a moment, for once, not knowing what to do.

A/N: What do you think Draco will say, Lucius? Favorite part? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks in advance!


	10. Rule Number Four

**A/N: Hi everyone! VenusInHerHair (amazing writer of **_**Love is a Ruthless Game**_**) has started a Lucius/OC community of which I am a staff member called Dark Magic: Lucius Malfoy and OC stories. Come read and if you are writing an OC/Lucius story or have a favorite, let us know! **

**More thanks to Onecelestialbeing, Benkins, and my other awesome male reader 10tonsoffun, who is awesome!**

**Enjoy this chapter, rated a very strong M for reasons I hope you will enjoy. If you are underage, scram! Lyrics from Marina and the Diamonds.**

**~o0o~**

"**Rule number four, gotta be looking pure. Kiss him goodbye at the door, and leave him wanting more"**

**~o0o~**

"Shit, he is coming over here…" Lacey murmured, trying to shrink herself as much as possible into her chair by the window, but Draco was upon them in seconds and she sat up straight as his eyes, slightly darker than his fathers, found hers.

"I did not think I would have the pleasure of seeing you again so soon, but I never caught your name… Miss….?"

"Lacey Delaney," she replied simply and he shook her hand formally before turning to Ginny, "The littlest Weaslebee, what a pleasure." His voice was snarkier when he addressed her, but it lacked malice and came across more as if from habit. The hatred for each other had long since passed, but it was part of their routine to establish normalcy and to hearken back to some of their more innocent days of youth whenever they saw each other.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, prompting the conversation further into her desired direction, even though the red-head was practically squirming like a child on Christmas morning at the drama of the situation and the fact that she already knew what he would say.

"Having lunch with my father. Shall I bring him over?" his eyes darted to Lacey, but he had enough tact to not insinuate that they had anything to do with each other. Draco knew the girls were best friends and when he heard her name, he finally recognized why she had seemed so familiar when he ran into her in Malfoy Manor. Yet, since he knew Ginny had a touchy history with his father, he did not know if it was fair game to assume Lacey had told the Weasley about her nighttime activities, and thus refrained from mentioning it.

"Oh of course!"

"No, it's alright…"

Both girls gave opposite responses and Lacey looked down at the table, flushing slightly at the awkwardness. Draco thus obeyed Ginny's request and with a well-placed and meaningful glance, he motioned for his father to join them. It was clear that Draco was getting some pleasure out of the bizarre situation as well. His face was as twisted in hidden glee as Ginny's.

Lucius Malfoy made his way slowly through the tables until he was next to his son, putting a hand on his shoulder that squeezed him a bit too hard.

"Ginevra," he inclined his head politely towards Ginny and she gave him a small smile back, watching him intently as he turned to Lacey and gave her just an nod of his head. Nothing more.

"Oh father, don't be so rude," Draco smirked, "It seems that you know Lacey here quite well, do you not?"

Lucius' face turned murderous as he glared at his son for a fleeting second, but soon plastered on the aristocratic and stoic countenance he had so well perfected, "In passing, we've met." Lacey hurriedly nodded in agreement. Ginny was biting her lip and looking between both Malfoys. The tension was palpable, but that wasn't surprising. Ginny was more taken aback, as was Draco, by the obvious sexual tension between Lacey and Lucius, even though their glances at each other never fully connected.

"Miss Weasley, can I interest you in another glass of wine at the bar while we wait for our food?" Draco asked as gentlemanly as he could and Ginny threw him a look that declared under normal circumstances this would never _ever_ happen, but took his arm and vacated the table, allowing Lucius to slip into her space.

Suddenly Lacey felt very hot in her silk blouse and like the room was caving in on her. She swallowed back her fear the best she could and managed to look him in the eye for a brief moment as she took a sip of wine.

"You left."

"Yes, I did."

"I've never been left before," his voice was cold and just as she was afraid of, angry.

"You run into me with your son, who you are supposed to be having lunch with, and you want to argue with me about leaving you in the middle of the night?" Lacey asked, raising her eyebrows and leaning across the table, finishing in a more hushed voice, "it was _just_ sex Lucius. Did you want me to stay and cuddle?"

"That, we will discuss later," he brushed off, "I want to know why Draco thinks we know each other better than just acquaintances."

"I am not answering that question right now. I refuse to do this here," Lacey said. As it was, people were starting to stare. Even though it was a muggle establishment, Lucius was a handsome man and brought many a stare from some of the groups of housewives having lunch; their argument was causing them to gossip loudly.

Truthfully, Lacey couldn't just sit and talk to the man with her best friend and his son watching. She stood up, threw her napkin on the table, and stormed off to the restroom.

**~o0o~**

"Lacey, you have a visitor!" the sweet, elderly receptionist in the front of the Auror office buzzed to her, her voice magnifying slightly through the little speaker box on her desk-which, unsurprisingly, had been Arthur Weasley's idea.

_For me?_ Lacey wondered to herself. Usually she was the one screening visitors for Ron. She glanced back at the red-head working diligently in his office, and when she turned back, the haughty expression of the younger Malfoy was staring at her.

"Haven't I seen enough of you today?" she sighed. Lunch had been an all-out disaster. Not only had Lacey sulked off embarrassingly like a child, but she had left her best friend in the lurch having an awkward drink with an old enemy, and needless to say none of the four ate much. When she had shown her face again, Lacey could barely talk to Ginny for fear of having no privacy, so they hurriedly picked at their pasta in silence and left. She was upset that she hadn't pressed Ginny for more information about Harry or Sirius, and she hadn't even told her best friend about what had happened with Lucius. Ginny had parted from her with an annoyed stare. It wasn't a good sign.

"Is there anywhere we can talk privately?" he asked, tapping his foot. Lacey nodded and stood up, hoping Ron hadn't noticed, but sure enough, he was barging out of his office and in Draco's face within seconds.

"What are you doing harassing my secretary Malfoy?" he asked, altogether more confrontationally than needed and Lacey had to step between them, which worked out as she was just as tall as both of them.

"I was up in my father's department, thought I'd pass along a message myself instead of relying on those idiotic little flying memos," Draco shrugged, pulling some paperwork out of his suit pocket and unfolding it, "Just some tedious matters. The Auror hiring process doesn't account for some small legal and international wizarding loopholes. I assure you Weasley, she can take it all down and brief you with it later."

Ron looked unconvinced but before returning to his office gave him a sharp look of disgust. Lacey took the paperwork, which turned out to have actual merit to it and led Draco to the small meeting room in between some offices. She closed and locked the door behind them.

"Besides these, what do you want…very clever by the way," she added, trying to steer the conversation in an opposite direction, but he wasn't budging, "What happened this afternoon?" Draco began.

"What happened was an awkward lunch ruined by you coming over and bringing your father. You saw me the second you walked in! You knew I snuck away from him in the middle of the night! Why cause problems?" she chastised him, but he didn't change his expression and instead, took a seat in one of the chairs surrounding the table in the room.

"I _wanted_ to cause problems Lacey. I thought you'd at least be a bit smarter if you worked at the Ministry. I see I was mistaken…"

"You wanted to cause problems?" she repeated, surprised. She knew his relationship with his father was strained, but she hadn't expected a full-on public embarrassment.

"Well, you're his…mistress yeah? Is that what he calls it? _Lover_?" Draco's face looked more sour with each name, "and look…I don't care that he is unfaithful to my mother…she is to him, I know it, and it used to bother me more, but that is the way of our world…but I _do_ care about who he chooses to spend time with."

"And what the hell is wrong with _me_?" Lacey asked, completely affronted.

"Not you!" he groaned, "Look…my father knows no boundaries. He stole my last girlfriend away from me, and I have my suspicions that my fiancée is…_Merlin_, I can't even bring myself to say it," he placed his clenched fist to his chin, contemplating, or calming himself-Lacey didn't know which. She had never seen him so emotional. Granted, she hadn't had as much interaction with him as Ron, Harry, or Hermione, but it had always been unpleasant. This, however, seemed to be a man that actually cared about something other than his slicked black blonde hair and pureblood reputation.

"Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe the women you choose are not that wonderful if they leave you for him?" Lacey sighed, "There's nothing _really_ wrong with you, anymore at least it seems, and I will _kill_ you if you ever so much as repeat that that came from me, but there isn't."

"Pansy loved me," came Draco's ragged voice. His eyes were deep and full of harbored anger, "And he took her away Lacey. Look…I haven't always been nice or even civil to you and your friends. Hell, I barely thought anything of you other than little Ginny's best friend. But the war changes people. It changed my mother, and my father, and myself. And I am willing to overlook the fact that you are annoying and grossly Amazonian, to come here and try to make a deal of sorts."

"A deal?" Lacey ignored his insult and asked with half curiosity, half dread. She was already embroiled with one deal with a Malfoy. Two would surely send her to the darkest realm of Hell when she died, if such a thing existed.

"I've tried to forget about Pansy. But Astoria, I really love her. I am marrying her in two short months and I need to know if she is being faithful. It is all well and good that my mother and father are fine with the rumors about them, but I will not follow suit. I want a respectable marriage," Draco said fiercely, his eyes were glinting like dark sapphires and Lacey knew better than to interrupt him, "If you could find out if he is having anything to do with her, I could pay you handsomely."

"_Ha_!" Lacey nearly snorted. She was already being paid more than a year's salary for a decent job at the Ministry by his mother, "You want me to spy for you? _For money_? You have got to be out of your mind…"

The way Draco stared back at her told her that he was deadly serious, "No. Just furious that my father tries to put on the act that we love each other, that we are _friends_, when he goes behind my back. I just want to know. And wouldn't you want to know Lacey? Make sure you are the only woman he is sleeping with?"

"Wait just a minute Malfoy, who even says I care? After all, you caught me sneaking _away_ from his room! Who even says I have the intention of doing it again?" she bluffed, knowing full well that her deal with Narcissa would require it happening again, even if the woman hadn't planned it that way. Things had spiraled out of control so fast, it was hard for her to keep up.

"Your obvious jealousy when I mentioned it last night and the look on your face when my father joined your table at lunch today told me everything I needed to know," Draco said smugly, "You want him, just like so many others."

The last part of his statement was finished with a bitter sneer and Lacey flushed. _He couldn't be right? Could he? _

"I don't want him!" she protested, more to convince herself than Draco, her heart pounding against her chest at the realization that maybe she did, that she was so flustered she couldn't even talk to him in a bloody restaurant, and that the whole day at her desk she had been thinking of _him_.

"Fine, tell yourself whatever you want Lacey. But please do this for me. You can have anything you want," Draco offered. She stood still at his proposition, possibilities flicking through her mind that were all too unrealistic. After all, all she really wanted was to have never gone to Grimmauld that first day and never have talked to Narcissa. Then everything would be fine.

"How far would you be willing to go Draco, for me to find out?" Lacey steeled herself, making herself seem imposing so that he might believe she would want to do this.

"However far I need to. As I said, the wedding is in two months. It would have to happen quickly."

"I'd need to meet her," Lacey said and although Draco frowned, he nodded, "And, I know you have friends in high places. I also know you are a big fan of Quidditch. And you might have heard about that little scandal with the Harpies?"

"How could I have not. The whole world knows," he tried to hide a laugh.

"Well if I am going to do this, I want a try-out. With any team. _Soon_. I don't want to wait until they make their rounds in the fall. I want to play Quidditch again," Lacey said resolutely. This was not something Narcissa could give her, nor could all her money buy. She read often in the society pages of the Prophet that Draco socialized with the owners of some of the best professional Quidditch teams: a group of young and wealthy men like himself that had either bought or inherited the teams.

"I can't do that," Draco shook his head resolutely.

"Then fine. I guess you will have to share your wife," she shrugged, knowing she was being an awful bitch, but she didn't much care, "If that's all Draco, I'll be going, have a nice day."

It took him longer to break than expected-the entire time frame of her gathering up the paperwork and walking towards the door-before he snapped.

"Wait,_ fine_, okay yes, I will get you an early try-out," he conceded and she whipped around with a smile on her face.

"Since you made me wait so long, Ginny gets one as well," she beamed and he looked positively ready to Crucio something, but finally nodded, "Perfect, we will keep in touch then."

As she walked out the door she found it more than ironic that two of the most powerful Slytherins and former dark wizards had sought her out to make deals with her, the half-blood Gryffindor, in less than a months' time.

**~o0o~**

After the rest of the afternoon at the Ministry and a short, but grueling night stocking shelves at Fred and George's shop, Lacey walked the short distance home alone. When she opened her apartment with a quick swish of her wand and turned on the lights with another, she found the owl that by all intents and purposes had become hers since she moved in that lived somewhere on the roof of the building, picking idly at a tin of open biscuits on her tiny kitchen table. Besides the owl was a prettily wrapped bouquet of about thirty poppy flowers. Lacey moved instinctively to get a vase and water for them, and when they were set right, she realized she left her small bedroom window open to get some fresh air in the apartment and the owl must have flown straight in.

With hesitation, she picked up the small card that was sealed with blood red wax pressed with the Malfoy family crest and tore it open.

_Nightcap?_

It was the only word on the heavy parchment in Lucius' tell-tale scrawl and Lacey looked from the poppies to the note and back again. When she thought about her day, she wasn't surprised he was eager to talk and find out about Malfoy, and she was rather interested to glean any information about Astoria.

Despite wanting to apparate to the gates of his Wiltshire manor in her garish Weasley's Wizard Wheezes jumper just to annoy him, she changed into an empire-waisted red dress with long sleeves and a scoop neck. It fell just above her knee and was comfortable, soft cotton. She slipped on some low black heels, ran a hand through her hopeless hair, closed the window, set the wards, and with a_ pop_ she was gone.

She had never gone to Malfoy manor alone before, and so she had apparated at the gate, the wards letting her through with a slight shudder of magic. Lacey had always found magic so fascinating in the way it could obey certain people and certain orders, and by the lights on throughout the manor, especially in Lucius' wing of the house, it was clear she was expected.

It was a long, brisk walk, with perfectly trimmed hedges on either side of her to guide the way, and soon she was in the grand entrance hall of the manor with a female house elf scurrying around her.

"Yous is Miss Delaney! Master is wanting to see you. Master is in his study and Mipsy will take you to him!" she exclaimed with a squeak and a definite wary look. Lacey knew why. This was Narcissa's personal and favored house elf, and there was obviously a strong bond there in some way because as they walked, Mipsy kept giving her suspicious looks up until they reached his study.

"There you go," the elf said, dissaparating, and Lacey knocked tentatively. She heard no sound and made to turn the handle but nearly stumbled when the door opened, Lucius Malfoy standing behind it.

"You thought I would make you open the door for yourself? How little do you think of me?" his signature smirk was curling up his face and she couldn't help but blush as he gestured for her to come into the room and she obeyed. He was walking past her again a second later, moving towards the wet bar in one corner of the beautiful, dark, and expensive looking study. He was dressed more casually than she had seen him, in only a well-tailored white shirt with the cuffs rolled up and black dress pants. The top button of his shirt was undone and his hair was loose around his shoulders. She heard him pour something and the tumbler of decadently expensive brandy was in her hand a moment later, his fingers lingering as they brushed against hers.

"Did it take you a while to get my note, or were you simply making me wait?" he asked, his voice icy, as he sat down in a gorgeous and perfectly warn leather chair by the crackling fire. Lacey took the chair opposite him and looked at one of the ornate clocks in the room. It was half past midnight.

"I worked late at the shop. I came a few minutes after I got it. Trust me, I know better than to keep a Malfoy waiting," she rolled her eyes, which he didn't appear to like, but kept silent, "Thanks for the poppies by the way. How did you know they were my favorite flower?"

He smiled, "Caught a glimpse of some nearly dead ones in your box of an apartment the other night. Figured I would press my luck and at least give you fresh ones. Rather interesting choice of flower to be your favorite, though."

"And why do you think that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, taking a sip of her drink to calm the nerves that seemed to be growing worse anytime she was in his presence.

"Blood red color, symbol of eternal sleep and death…a little morbid and not something I would associate with you."

"They are beautiful, and they only bloom for a few hours once you cut them, you know, so they will be dead by the time I return home. But I like that they are so exquisite and then they fade. A metaphor for life really," she mused.

"Or love?" he asked, with curiosity in his voice.

"Or love," she nodded, turning her eyes towards the fire to avoid his probing stare.

"Is that how you feel about love Lacey? That nothing lasts forever?" he pried. She whipped her head back towards him and gave him a harsh glare.

"That is a very personal question Mr. Malfoy," she replied coldly.

"And I see we have reverted to the use of my surname. I do apologize Lacey, I was only wondering if you were hurt often in the past."

"That is none of your business."

"Oh, but it most certainly is. You are my business," he said and the look associated with his words caught Lacey off guard. It was so possessive and she realized she hadn't taken a breath in a long time. She finished off her glass and desperately tried to think of a way to change the subject but her lack of words worked against her.

"What does Draco know?" his voice was surprisingly not accusing.

"I ran into him in the hallway when I was…"

"Stealing away in the middle of the night?" he finished for her and her blush confirmed so, "I am very displeased at that Lacey. Not one word of goodbye and leaving your panties in my hand…_naughty girl_."

The way his voice lowered and his infuriating smirk once again graced his face, along with his favorite descriptor of her, caused an unwanted but not unpleasant reaction in Lacey. All of her exposed skin flushed a delicate, feminine light pink and she crossed her legs just for the split second of friction it gave her in just the right place. With just a look and some words, the man had her starting to ache between her thighs. She mused how it was beyond unfair, trying to remind herself that she hated him…or was supposed to. That he was a cheater, and could very well be sleeping with his son's fiancée.

"It was just sex, Lucius, as I said before. Nothing more. Why stay for the awkward morning after?" she feigned nonchalance about the whole situation, but merely to buy herself time.

"It's not just sex, Lacey, not to me," his look was piercing, and she wondered if he was telling the truth or trying to play her as well.

"That is unfortunate for you," she sighed and got up from the chair, walking over to the wet bar to refill her drink. She knew it was risky turning her back towards him but it gave her a moment to breathe, collect herself, and busy her hands.

"Don't tell me you don't feel it Lacey," his voice was suddenly right in her ear, his hands on her waist. She hadn't even heard him approach her. _Damn snake_, she cursed to herself.

"Feel what?" she asked, not wanting to state the obvious, which was the rather prominent bulge pressing into her lower back. She kept her eyes down on her drink, watching the amber liquid slightly vibrate in the glass as her heartbeat resounded in her hands.

"What is happening between us," he replied before kissing up her neck lightly. She tried her best not to melt into his touch, standing rigid underneath his careful and skilled ministrations. She could tell he was implying more than just the physical attraction, but didn't want to think about that.

"There is nothing going on between us…" she protested, but the breathiness of her voice gave her body's reaction away, "We've only fucked once. You took me to dinner twice…it's, it's _hardly_ anything…"

Lucius gently caressed her hips and then moved one hand further down her body, against her thigh until he reached the hem of her short dress and dove under it, wasting no time in pressing his fingers against her panties, feeling the heat radiating from her and the dampness there.

"Oh how wrong you are," he told her and she set her glass down, reaching down to take his hand away from her center and turning around with both hands on his chest. He grabbed the back of her neck and their lips met furiously. There was anger in their bruising kisses. Denial from her, passion from him, and a mutual need as she pushed him back and down into his armchair, crawling onto his lap and straddling him, her knees wedged between his thighs and the leather arms of the chair. She ground herself against him, the only thing between them his pants and her thin panties.

Once again Lacey fought for control and he let her for a few moments, mostly because he enjoyed the mischievous glint in her eye when she pulled away from his kiss and started unbuttoning his shirt. But Lucius told himself that he was really always in control because he was letting her take the lead, and it pacified him enough to let the witch on his lap tease him for a moment before he grabbed at the fabric on the sides of her dress, forcing her arms up, and pulling the garment up and over her head swiftly, meeting her lips once again and pulling the curtain of brown hair away from her face, holding it at the nape of her neck and making sure she couldn't go anywhere.

When he was certain Lacey was not going to move, save some rolling of her hips back and forth to grind herself on his erection, he took a moment to inspect her, running his hand lightly over the curves of her breasts and dipping his fingers into the light pink lace of her demi-bra to feel her hardened nipples. He enjoyed her moans and how responsive she was when his fingers ran down her stomach and pulled her panties to the side so that he could press them inside her.

"Oh!" she gasped, expecting it, but not ready for how much she liked it. He simultaneously pulled on her hair and kissed her cleavage as he roughly finger-fucked her, "Stop fucking torturing me Lucius!"

"Oh I love the way you say my name," he murmured, kissing up to her collarbone and then sucking greedily on her neck, "And not until you ask me nicely…"

"Please!" she begged, his two fingers felt so good curling inside of her, but they weren't nearly enough.

"Please what?" he asked, a smile on his face as he pulled his lips away from her neck, staring proudly at the lovebite forming there. He withdrew his fingers from her wet sex and quickly unbuttoned himself. With a hand on her hip guiding her, he pushed her up more on her knees so she hovered above his lap as he pulled out his raging hard erection, keeping it just out of her reach.

"You bastard! Just fuck me!" Lacey glared at him, nearly going mad with desire. Her whole mind was fighting against her body and losing miserably. Although Lucius' cock twitched at the words, he was slow to reply. He reached his hands behind her back and undid her bra without much effort, quickly discarding it so that he could knead the pale, perfectly round orbs as he watched lust cloud her eyes.

"That is not very lady-like of you Lacey," he laughed darkly, reaching both of his hands up to her face, one to trace the cupid's bow of her lip, a place he found most enchanting on her, and the other to stroke her cheek, "ask nicely now darling."

"Please Lucius, please?" Lacey whimpered, nearly begging. She hated herself for begging, but she was so far gone as she whispered the words against his finger. He withdrew it and she lunged forward to kiss him as he bucked his hips up and she pushed hers down at the same time, their two bodies connecting in a fitful dance.

Both of them registered pain: Lacey's fingernails digging into his shoulders as she clutched onto him and his strong hands holding her hips as he thrust up into her so hard that they were bruising; but it didn't matter at all. Their lips never parted and they moaned into each other's mouths; the only other sound was their skin meeting. She knew she was soaking the front of his very expensive trousers and he knew his hands were ripping her delicate lace panties, but neither cared. They were consumed by each other.

He came seconds before her, and the rush of heat into her pushed Lacey over the edge. She finally parted from him and threw her head back, sharply crying out once in pleasure before collapsing onto him in a curled up heap.

As she rested against his chest, her head on his shoulder, Lucius reached up and ran a hand over her tangled mess of hair, looking blankly around his study, his chest heaving. He didn't want to move, and was momentarily blown away by the intensity of their coupling. With some wordless magic, he accio-ed his wand to him and performed a quick cleansing charm.

With a little mewl he found most adorable, but would never admit it, Lacey extracted herself from him, moaning slightly when he slipped out of her body and she shakily climbed off his lap. Her skin blushed again when she was standing naked before him and she didn't miss the appreciative look he gave her when his eyes roamed over her body as she reached for her dress and slipped it on, forgoing her ruined underwear. He eyed her tiny nipples pressing against the thin fabric of her dress and as she pushed some of her chestnut hair behind one ear, she gave him a small smile.

"Stay."

"I can't" she said with finality. He tucked himself back into his pants, buttoned them and stood up, "Besides, there is no need Lucius. It was _only_ sex."

"It _wasn't_" his voice wasn't as gentle this time and she had to turn her head to the side. She wasn't a very good liar.

"It _was_," she ended the conversation, taking a step forward to kiss him on the cheek before turning on her heel and leaving.

**~o0o~**

Narcissa and Lacey had just missed each other. Moments after Lacey had dissaparated from the grounds, Narcissa apparated to the front double doors, having come straight from Remus' arms. Most of the lights were on in the large manor, even though it was after two in the morning, and it made Narcissa feel a bit guilty.

"Mistress?" Mipsy looked up at Narcissa with her large, bulging eyes and quickly took her fur coat.

"Mipsy, some tea in my chambers would be nice before bed," Narcissa instructed the elf, both tired from the night, and yet awake at the same time. She knew it would be a while before sleep found her.

Yet instead of promptly going off to do her job, Mipsy lingered, and then started to hit her head against the ground, getting on her knees to do so.

"Mipsy is bad elf. Mipsy is so bad!"

"What on earth are you doing? Stop it!" Narcissa commanded, annoyed. Mipsy stopped, but her forehead was bloodied from the way she was pounding it into the marble floor.

"Mipsy is betraying Master, but I am Mistresses elf and…" the little thing was wringing her hands together nervously.

"Tell me Mipsy, what is going on?"

"Master had a girl in his study. A girl who is not Mistress," Mipsy said, completely horrified both at herself and the information. Narcissa knew exactly who that girl was, and the unpleasant lurch in her stomach confused her. Mipsy had never come to her like that before and she knew Lucius had had dozens of lovers. His brazenness to obviously flaunt her around in front of the house elves was something new.

**~o0o~**

Lacey was in a daze as she started up the long flight of stairs to her apartment. Her body was thrilled and sated, but she felt guilty for wanting to see him again already. It was a harder and harder part to play.

"Lacey?"

The familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she saw Fred Weasley sitting on the landing of the staircase, right by her front door.

"Sorry I didn't bring flowers, like whoever's these are, but can we talk?" he asked, pointing to the new bouquet of poppies on her porch, matching the ones inside.

**A/N: I hope all of you liked this! I would love some reviews for this! What do you think of Draco's offer? Do you think Lucius has fallen for Lacey, or is he acting? What will Narcissa and Fred do? I always love your theories!**


	11. Mistress

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the love and support you have been showing me, and thank you kindly for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter, as you get to see a little more behind Lucius and see some of his thoughts. Also, Happy Birthday to the gorgeous Jason Isaacs, this chapter is dedicated to him.**

**And be sure to check out mine and VenusInHerHair's Lucius/OC community! And check out her stories as well!**

**~o0o~**

"Fred? What are you doing here?"

Lucius watched from the shadows of the alley, partially obscured by the wall at the bottom of the staircase leading up to Lacey's apartment. He hadn't waited very long to follow her, only a few minutes, and was just as shocked as she seemed to be that she wasn't alone. He retreated so that his body was completely in the darkness and chose instead to only listen.

"As I said, I think we should talk, can we go inside?"

Anger suddenly flared inside Lucius' body that the Weasley could be so presumptuous as to invite himself inside. It sparked even more anger when he heard the squeaky door open and Lacey, _his_ Lacey (although he wasn't quite sure when she had taken that new title) had let him in. This gave Lucius the opportunity to cast a disillusionment charm over himself without being heard and he waited until the cool trickle of the spell's effects passed over his body before climbing the steps. When he found himself on the landing, he was able to look through one of the few window's Lacey's apartment had, and felt rather smug that the first thing she had decided to do upon entering the apartment was put the new poppies in a vase. He then watched her walk back over to the Weasley and they both sat down on the couch. He couldn't discern too much of the conversation, though it seemed rather trivial. The interlude, however, did give Lucius time to watch her.

He noticed the way she kept tucking her hair over her ear nervously, and how she sat very far away on her small, shabby couch, from Fred Weasley. He also found that he was rather happy about this small action on her part and briefly thought about how this little affair had affected him so quickly. With Pansy, it had almost taken a year for her to break him. It was what attracted him to her in the first place, that she was the aggressor. He had another mistress at the time, Annie, but she was so submissive he found her boring outside of the bedroom. Their conversations consisted of next to nothing, and the main reason it took Lucius so long to cave to Pansy's attractions was because of his son. Once he crossed the line he had fallen for her quickly, even surprised himself that the once rather plain, pug-nosed girl that had tagged behind his son in their early years at Hogwarts had turned into a dark, mysterious seductress that stole his heart.

After the discovery made by Draco, the fallout was so profound and came so rapidly that he hadn't even had time to say goodbye to her. To this day, he still wasn't sure if it was a game. He knew his feelings were real but Pansy had always been somewhat guarded, and sometimes fake. All in all, she had been his greatest mistake. Lucius Malfoy had opened himself to a real attempt at love outside of his wife, and had almost lost everything.

As he watched Lacey break her first smile for the blushing red-head inside her apartment, he wondered if he was setting himself up to repeat the past. She did seem to be hiding something. Most of his life consisted of working for the Dark Lord and torturing people into telling their secrets and information. He had grown accustomed to the looks in people's eyes signaling that they were lying. Lacey sometimes had that look, but there was something else about her that pushed Lucius forward in his pursuit of her.

There was a sweet sincerity to her when she thought no one was looking. He liked that she was tough, but he could tell she was just as vulnerable as anyone else. Lacey Delaney was a paradox, and yet didn't appear to be a lethal one.

When she had just walked out of his study, claiming that what was going on between them was 'just sex', it was a bruise to Lucius' admittedly large ego. Under other circumstances, he wouldn't have cared much, but he felt inexplicably drawn towards the brunette inside, laughing with Fred Weasey. She was different in a way that he couldn't quite place his finger on, and he needed to let her know.

If she had meant nothing, he wouldn't have risked running into his wife as he snuck out of the manor to apparate to Diagon Alley in the middle of the night. If she was just another shag, Lucius knew he wouldn't be hiding outside her apartment and spying on her. He was doing things he never thought he would do for someone he wasn't betrothed to, and yet, there he was.

Inside of the small apartment above the Apothecary, Lacey was much more distressed than she outwardly appeared to be.

"Something is really different about you Lacey, look at you, you are dressing differently, and you are acting like…" Fred started, but paused when he saw the furious look in her eyes. He hadn't wanted to upset her, and had tried to tip-toe around what he had wanted to say to the girl he had fallen in love with, but he couldn't anymore.

"Acting like what?" Lacey prompted him, raising one eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chests, very aware of the fact that she had left her lingerie in Lucius' study.

"Like…well, like you are bloody better than us! This is not the Lacey I have ever known, even since you were little! The Lacey I know doesn't wear dresses…she doesn't lie, she doesn't sneak off to meet someone mysteriously dressed like a Knockturn Alley tart!" Fred's face went red as he said all of this, and he felt punched in the gut from the look on her face, but it needed to be said.

"I am growing up Fred! I am not just Ginny's best friend anymore, I am a grown woman and I can wear and do whatever I want!" Lacey argued back, although feeling slightly guilty. She knew she had changed drastically in the last few weeks, enough so for anyone to question it, but part of her was starting to revel in it.

"_Who_ are you seeing? _Who_ is making you do this?" Fred asked, pained.

"That is none of your business and no one is making me do anything! I make my own damn decisions. You aren't my fucking father," Lacey yelled at him, getting up from the couch and storming into her bedroom. Fred groaned before getting up and following her. He found her back towards him as she sat on the edge of the bed in her tiny room.

"Lace, come on. I didn't mean to start a fight with you. I've just been worried about you. And nervous, and although I wanted to ask those things-that is not truly what I came here to say…" his voice was softer now and he moved to sit next to Lacey, his thighs right next to hers. He took her small hand that was resting on her knee and held it.

One small, tiny part of Lacey wanted to just confess to Fred how in over her head she was with Lucius, to stop keeping the secret. He had been like a brother to her over her whole life, and she looked up to him.

Fred leaned down slightly, dropping his head, and tilted her chin up with his fingers before kissing her softly. It took Lacey's breath away, more out of surprise than anything, before she gently pulled away.

"You are beautiful Lacey and I really like you…" he said, the nervousness blatant in his voice and Lacey's heart broke. There had been a time, about a year ago, when she was so smitten with Fred that she would have given anything to hear those words, even though she was seeing Oliver. But now was different and she honestly had no idea he felt anything more than familial affection towards her.

"I really don't know what to say," Lacey said bluntly, looking down into her lap instead of at Fred.

"That might just be a first, we should document it!" he was all laughter, but he couldn't see the panic in her eyes as she kept them averted.

"I don't know what to say because this isn't the right time for this Fred, I really should sleep and maybe we can talk about this later," she said, stalling. She knew her romantic life was a mess. She had wanted Oliver, but he hadn't wanted her enough and she had spent years back and forth with him. Now she was tasked with seducing an older man that the Weasley's had a long-standing feud with and was starting to fall for him. And currently, she was sitting next to a man she had once pictured herself with, who she was sure she could live a happy comfortable life with. After all, Molly would be more than happy to officially make her a Weasley. In short, things were a mess and it was giving Lacey a panic attack.

"How is this not the right time…we just…" she knew he was going to say 'kissed' and kissed they had. The only reason Lacey could give him for not wanting to reciprocate would mean telling him about her secret deal, and even then she wasn't completely sure of her feelings.

"Cuz it isn't!" she looked up at him finally with serious fear in her eyes, her voice rising in pitch just a little too much to make them both uncomfortable, "You mean the world to me, but there are some things I need to figure out because I don't want to hurt you."

"Well _I_ am going to figure this out, because the Lacey I know wouldn't have to think about it, she would just jump right in," Fred was in clear denial, mostly because he had spent a large amount of time in the recent months wondering about that exact moment. Lacey had always been so fun and spontaneous, and now she looked worried, tired, and different.

"There is nothing wrong Fred, I promise you," she felt guilty as she ran her hands through her hair and they got awkwardly caught in her tangles. She knew she had ruined a moment that could have been the start of something new, and she was currently placing the blame on the infuriating, blonde, elder Malfoy.

"There is. I want my Lacey back, and I'm going to figure this out."

Fred kissed her on the temple before getting up and leaving the room. He cast a furious glance at the poppies, knowing full well they had to be a clue about her mysterious behavior, but found no card or sign of a sender, before leaving her apartment.

Lucius had to press himself against the side railing on the landing to keep from being barreled into. Fred paused, clearly sensing something, and looked straight through Lucius before walking down the stairs in a huff, crediting the tingling sense of magic to Lacey's wards.

Lucius reached for the doorknob as soon as Fred was out of sight, but was repelled instantly, and figured Lacey had hastily replaced her wards. He slipped out his wand and began to work quickly to undo them. It took no more than a half a minute before Lucius was inside, ending his disillusionment charm, and listening to sounds of things being thrown in Lacey's room.

He figured the girl would come out eventually and he moved around the apartment, taking it in. He looked at the small, worn couch and two basic chairs in the living area, noting she lacked a fireplace. He moved towards one of the shelves on a bookcase against the wall and looked at the pictures there. He saw quite a few of her and Ginny: some in their Harpies uniforms, one with them on the beach together, and a few of them with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley as well. He also noticed a picture of Lacey and a taller boy, with the same color brown as her hair. They both wore wide smiles. He knew he would appear silly to anyone watching, just casually perusing her pictures, taking in snippets of a life he knew very little about, but he hardly cared. He was so caught up in examining her collection of books that he didn't hear her small gasp when she entered the room.

"How the hell did you get in here?" was what finally caused him to turn, and he was pleased to hear that there was more surprise than regret in her voice. She looked almost the opposite of how she did in his study and was wearing a very short pair of cotton black shorts that showed off most of her legs and a simple white shirt. Her long hair was up in a ponytail and her face was washed and clean.

"You look…" he couldn't bring himself to finish as she looked at him with confusion.

"I don't always look glamorous, sorry to disappoint…"

"You look nothing short of stunning Lacey," he finally managed. It was a different sort of stunning, but it made his heart pound in his chest regardless, "and as to how I got in…well, I must say, for a girl who I personally remember casting a very effective cure at McNair during the last battle, your wards are truly pathetic."

She blushed, "No one ever comes to visit really, and no one really knows I live her…but how did you remember that? You said you didn't know me other than Ginny's friend."

"The Manor is not without a pensieve, Lacey, and when I can't sleep I sometimes sort through old memories. I've found that I have seen you quite a few times in the past. I guess it is mostly because whenever I was around or near Hogwarts, I tried to keep an eye out for Ginevra and you were always by her side. Guilt is a funny thing," he sighed and sat down on her less than comfortable couch and it showed on his face, "and I always tried to make sure she was alright. As much as I still have certain feelings towards the Weasley's, she didn't deserve what I had a hand in putting her through."

"Oh…" she was rather taken aback as she sat down on the same couch, which put them rather close to each other.

"And while we are on the subject of Weasley's…why was one of them in your apartment?"

"You were spying on me!" she gasped, "How dare you! You followed me back here to see what I was doing?"

"I followed you back here because I didn't want to be away from you. And he was here. So yes, I watched. Although, you both did go in your bedroom for a while and I couldn't see a thing," his velvet voice was slightly jealous and trying to goad her into telling him what happened.

"If you really were spying, I assume you saw him leave here in a rather angry state then," she said sharply, trying to confine herself to the corner of the couch and put as much space as she could between them. She was secretly thrilled that he had followed her, but disturbed that something she wanted kept private no longer was.

"Yes, but what made him so angry Lacey?"

"He kissed me and I told him that now wasn't the right time for anything like that in my life."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? You _know_ why!" she was on the verge of tears, looking at the man who was slowly ruining her for anyone else. She didn't even think of Oliver anymore, and certainly not sexually. Only the one man she shouldn't care for was on her mind. She had to leave him in less than a month's time, and he consumed her thoughts.

"I am no mind-reader Lacey," his voice was gentler at seeing the distress in her eyes, but he wasn't going to stop before he got the answer he wanted, the answer he desperately hoped for.

"You are so fucking infuriating!" she shot up from the couch, pushing some fly-away hairs out of her face and moving quickly to the kitchen sink to pour herself a glass of water. Lucius let her be for a moment, before slowly getting up and moving behind her. His body didn't touch hers, but he placed his arms next to hers on the counter, effectively trapping her there and his body reacted instantly when he heard her breath quicken.

"And why is that, my dear?"

"Because you are driving me mad. _Bloody mad_," she whispered. She didn't know how much longer she could take with him behind her and not touching her, or how much longer she could feel his breath on her neck and not do anything about it.

"And you think you aren't doing the same to me? Why do you think I came here? I don't chase women, Lacey, they chase me…"

"Oh Merlin you are so disgustingly egotistical!" she tried to maneuver herself so that her back was no longer towards him, but his strong body didn't move. She ducked through the space in his arms and he simply re-adjusted his stance so that he had her pinned against the counter, this time their pairs of icy blue eyes locked.

"You enjoy it," he nearly purred and she was once again holding onto the very last shreds of her resolve.

"What is this between us?"

"Are you finally going to admit to seeing it?" he cracked a half-smile and she licked her lips and nodded, "Then what is going on between us is that you are mine. I want you Lacey and I don't want anyone, _especially a Weasley_, with his hands on you, do you understand that?"

It took a moment for it to really sink into Lacey, and even though belonging to him was something so anti-Gryffindor, something her adoptive family in the Weasley's would hate so much, and something she never pictured in her life, it filled her body with happiness.

"Yes," she answered.

"Then say it. Say you belong to me…" his eyes never faltered in their cool, slightly dangerous look, but inside he wasn't sure if she would really go through with it.

Lacey knew she was at a crossroads. She knew that she would be letting down her best friend and all of her other friends and family with a few simple words. She was betraying her deal with Narcissa by actually falling for him, and she knew it was going to hurt so badly when she had to say goodbye.

She had one month. One month to be his, and looking at him, there was no way she could say no, even if it meant lying to everyone.

"I…I belong to you…I _want_ you…" she stammered out, each word leaving her lips thrilled her and scared her, like she was saying a dark curse for the first time.

"You are my mistress Lacey."

Her breath caught in her throat. Now she was one of them, one in a long line of many, and yet she wanted it so badly, "Yes, but…"

Lucius smiled a genuine smile that rarely saw the light of day. He should have known there would be some stipulation with her, or some exception, "But what?"

"But you belong to me too."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Favorite part or line? What do you think this changes for Lacey? I am always curious about your theories and I would love a review!**


	12. Discoveries

**A/N: Hey everyone! Your reviews have been so kind. Thanks for keeping up with this story. Your reviews really do help me to write faster. The first part of this chapter will check in with some of our other couples and their troubles, and then back to Lucius and Lacey! Enjoy.**

**~o0o~**

Narcissa waited until almost four in the morning in the library before retiring to her chambers. Her tea had long since grown cold and her temper only got worse and worse. It was one thing in her eyes for Lacey to be in the Manor, but another thing entirely for Lucius to disappear overnight when he knew full well she was home. What scared her more was the realization that she was jealous over it-and in ways that she certainly didn't expect. It wasn't physically, as she was perfectly, if not better, taken care of by Remus in that aspect, but it was because of her lineage. The closer the divorce loomed, and the assets divvied up in a proposal that would be presented to Lucius, the more Narcissa realized that she would no longer be a Malfoy. It wasn't so much the money, as she knew she would have enough for the rest of her life, but it was her status in question. She had grown up being the best of the pureblood witches her age, and she was never treated like anything else. She could almost feel the manor not respond as quickly to her magic as she and Lucius distanced themselves, and once again the fact that Lucius had introduced Lacey to the house elves, and in particular, Mipsy, incensed her.

She was scared that she would be forgotten, shunned by all of her friends and acquaintances, and that she would never see the inside of this house that had been half hers since she was fresh out of Hogwarts ever again.

**~o0o~**

"Harry, I have to go, it is really late and this is the second night in a row that I haven't come home..Si.." Ginny stopped herself before she said his name, thankful that the alcohol hadn't fully pushed it out of her lips and she set her drink down. They were sitting on the couch in his spacious apartment, drinking their umpteenth butterbeers, and she was feeling guiltier by the moment.

"_Aha_! You almost said his name!" Harry smirked before running a hand through his very messy hair. His eyes were a little glazed but he didn't take them off of Ginny.

"Thank Merlin I didn't because it is none of your business," she said, starting to fidget. She didn't even want to think about how mad Sirius was, and every moment spent with Harry was weakening their relationship, even if he didn't know.

"It is though, you are the love of my life, I think I need to know who you are shagging," Harry looked her in the eye and she blushed.

"You are drunk Harry, you don't mean it. You broke my heart so I don't think you have any right to deem me the love of your life. My boyfriend and I had a fight, and I just wanted to spend my night with a _friend_. That is all."

"But it was the biggest mistake of my life leaving you."

"Well, I am happy," Ginny said, and it wasn't a lie. She was very happy, she just hated that Sirius couldn't understand some very important parts of her like Harry could. Harry knew _everything_, and being in recent contact with Lucius and Narcissa had brought a lot of unhappy memories to the surface, despite how much she now liked Mrs. Malfoy.

"You don't look it," Harry frowned and reached over for Ginny's hand. She let him hold it for a second before pulling away, looking at her childhood sweetheart with adoration and love, but no longer lust.

"Maybe one day I will tell you Harry, but not now. You mean the world to me, and you've kept me from going bloody barmy tonight but I do have to go," she said, standing up. Ginny already felt that she had cheated on Sirius and she hadn't even kissed Harry, and she quickly gathered her things and moved towards the door.

"Ginny, don't leave. _Stay_. I'm begging you. I'll prove to you that I am sorry and that we are really meant to be. I've missed you," he looked so helpless, like a shaggy, much-too-skinny-despite-being-fed-Molly's-cooking, puppy dog.

"You'll be just fine Harry, I swear it, go take a sober-up and get your arse into bed alright?" Ginny bossed him with a smirk and after a quick peck on the cheek, was gone and back home to Grimmauld.

**~o0o~**

Much to Remus' intense displeasure, he was sitting across from a slightly bedraggled looking Hermione Granger at just after four in the morning. This marked the second night in a row for him that he was up when he would have rather been dead to the world, and he wasn't pleased about it. Neither was Sirius, but since Ginny had left Grimmauld he hadn't slept, so it had hardly made a difference to the very grumpy animagus when Hermione had showed up in striped navy pyjama pants and a white thermal, asking for Remus

"Hermione, before I completely lose my temper, please tell me why you are here and stop staring at me like you are about to be sick everywhere. It does nothing for my self-esteem," Remus beseeched her and rubbed his temples, trying to ease his headache. The curly-haired woman twisted around in the plum-coloured armchair for a moment before opening her mouth.

"I've figured it out you know," she said quietly, looking suddenly down at her lap when his head perked up. She grabbed the end of one of her wild curls and twisted it between index and thumb, "I know why you left me so suddenly. I haven't been able to sleep. I've barely eaten. I thought being with Charlie would take it all away and it did for a while, but it always came back. I wondered why I wasn't good enough. I thought we got on so well. I thought you loved me…"

"Hermione, I did love you," he admitted.

"Let me finish," she snapped, and when he caught the glare she was giving him from under her eyelashes, he slumped back in his own chair, his pulse racing, "You know, I would have been much happier if you would have just married Tonks. But I guess it all worked out…you stayed in the family, after all…"

It was now Remus' turn to look sick. He blanched the color of fresh parchment and took a deep breath, as he hadn't remembered to breathe in the moments prior.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Have you so quickly forgotten what I was like when I was your student?" she asked, finally looking him square in the eye, "I know our relationship was rather taboo, considering the age difference, but it is nothing when compared to having one with a married, Slytherin, pureblood maniac, Death Eater's wife! Oh, and did I mention _married_?"

"_Hermione_…"

"After all we worked and fought so hard for in the war? For you to fall for her? And don't even _try_ to blame in on an Imperious Remus because I have checked you for one," her eyes were fiery and quite honestly, rather scary.

"Hermione please calm down… I can explain it to you…" he pleaded, trying to stop her from raising her voice any louder.

"Really? _Can you_? I'd love to hear why I didn't make the cut in favor of Narcissa _fucking_ Malfoy," Hermione spat. Remus could count the number of times Hermione ever cursed on his left hand, and he was shocked at her fury, although he knew it was warranted.

"Things happen and we can't always control them alright?" he was frantic, frustrated, and desperately searching for a way to calm her down.

"Oh! Oh, is that so?" she spat sarcastically, her perfectly prim voice making each scathing word sound even more biting.

"Now hold on one second Hermione, you are making this much more than it needs to be, I know you are hurt but…"

"_Hurt_? Oh yes, I'm bloody hurt. I've cried myself to sleep over you. I've nearly gone mad!"

"Please, come on, let's talk," he got up and put his strong hands onto her shoulders, trying to ease her back into her chair but was unsuccessful as she fought against him, "I have never in my life seen you so judgmental without hearing the full story Hermione, what makes this any different?"

"Because I am in love with you!" she cried out, her big brown eyes filling with tears, "I'm in love with you and I wish it was anyone but _her_!"

It was at that moment that Remus knew she had broken past her anger, and her true sadness overtook her. He sat down in the chair and pulled her much smaller body close to him, hugging her tightly as she cried onto his shirt. He held her gently and patted her curls in what he hoped was a comforting way before she sniffed back her remaining tears and looked up at him.

When he saw her red eyes, the few little freckles on her face, and her sad smile, he wished that Narcissa had never walked into his life. He knew Hermione would have made him a happy man, but what was done was done, and there was no turning back now, he knew that.

"I want to know," she told him.

"And I want to know how in the world you figured it out."

"Brightest witch of my age Remus, come on now…" she gave a smirk and he was happy for the break in the tension.

He extracted himself from the chair, moving back to his original one and Hermione curled up her legs against her body, looking even smaller than she did before.

"'Mione, we need to make an Unbreakable Vow if I am going to tell you. You know what would be at stake for me if this came out prematurely."

"I was never going to tell anyone Remus, I just wanted a good row with you to let it out and get closure, but I'll make one just the same," she nodded, wanting him to at least trust her if she could have nothing else from him and reached out her arm. He laughed a little at his jesting, his small chuckle that never failed to put a smile on her face and she pulled back her hand, blushing.

"You just have to promise me it stays in this room Hermione, no Unbreakable Vows necessary, now," he placed the tips of his fingers together, staring at her contemplatively, "When did you have this revelation?"

"About a half hour ago, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here in the middle of the night," she shrugged, "I wouldn't have been able to wait till morning."

"And how did you find out?"

"It's been a bit of a process really," she started, rather embarrassed that now she would have to admit to how invested she had become in the search, "I knew there had to be someone new and I started ruling people out strategically, most everyone we know is married or seriously together, and I knew of no relationship troubles. And then of course Tonks wouldn't go back to you, so I had to search outside our friends. I thought it was Lacey for a while, as she was always here when I popped by, but it just didn't add up. You didn't seem to be interested in her, and then…_well_…"

"Then what?"

"Then it was all a bit too easy. The first time I had come by after we broke up, I remember smelling this really unique perfume. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I found it strange since I didn't think Ginny or Lacey wore perfume. But it was gardenia and a hint of something spicy, like fresh pepper, and very lovely but it smelled very expensive and it just clung around the air in the hallway," Hermione continued on and Remus nodded. It was the heady smell of Narcissa that he loved so much, fresh gardenia. He was so used to her being around that the smell, even with his heightened senses, seemed normal in his presence.

"And today, I was out in the shops and I passed by Narcissa Malfoy coming out of Twilfitt and Tatting's positively laden with bags and something about her as she passed clicked in my brain. And I spent nearly the rest of the day trying to figure it out and then, as I said, I was lying in bed and it hit me-the gardenia. She smelled exactly like the hallway did on that visit. I knew there was a possibility, albeit small, that I was wrong, but the look on your face confirmed that I was right rather quickly," she finished. Remus was rather shocked that it had all been rather simple, but only Hermione would have had the desire to figure it out, simple or not.

"Well, I am both impressed and flattered, in an odd way…" he mused, slightly nervous that it hadn't been some grand unraveling of their relationship, just perfume.

"How did it happen?"

"I was in a very strange mood and I was walking down Diagon Alley, completely in my own little world in my brain and apparently Narcissa was as well. It was early on a Monday morning and we ran smack into each other. I was so intimidated. Her purse fell and everything spilled out and I was reaching around like a mad man trying to rectify it, completely forgetting I was a wizard of course," he smiled sheepishly at the memory, "and when she looked at me, I saw something different there, it was like a cry for help. I asked if I could take her to the Leaky for a drink and to my utter surprise, she said yes. Everything happened so quickly and four hours later we were still talking like old friends. Never in my life would I have thought a woman like her would spend a minute talking to a scruffy werewolf like myself, let alone hours. I can't explain it fully Hermione, and neither can she, but we found each other in the way everyone wishes to."

Hermione's face became drawn as the story progressed, wishing he felt that way about her still, but she also saw the intense sincerity in his eyes and knew that he was deeply happy, "She's changed?"

"Well, I think she has been changed since the final battle. After all…she did help save Harry's life…"

"That was a play to save her family's hides, not for Harry," her temper flared again.

"Whatever you believe Hermione, she is different. She may still dress and look like a Malfoy, but I do believe she has reverted to the new-age Black side of things, her maniacal sister excluded. She doesn't value blood supremacy anymore, in the same way Andromeda didn't, and she is more intelligent than you give her credit for. She wants more in her life than status and piles of money," Remus concluded and Hermione had no choice to accept it.

"But what about Lucius? I'll take what you say into consideration and when I see Draco out I try to be polite, but Lucius Malfoy…he did terrible things to muggles…_to Ginny_…" she was almost crying now, even though she had no idea what really happened to Ginny, just that he had given her the diary, "And he is a complete coward!"

"I don't disagree with you Hermione, but trust me when I say he is being taken care of," Remus told her and they both heard the slam of the front door and the patter of feet taking the stairs two at a time.

It was Ginny and her heart was banging against her ribcage so hard she could barely breathe. When she reached the landing to the second floor, she yanked Sirius' bedroom door open and flung herself onto the bed, nearly scaring the man half to death.

"Gin?" he asked in a raspy voice. He was half-drunk, tired as hell, and more than surprised to see her, especially since she was taking her clothes off frantically, kissing him hard and silencing him.

"I've missed you and I'm sorry," she apologized, her eyes wet as she pulled back from her boyfriend, ran her hand over his stubble and down his jaw.

"You are back and that is all I care about," he wove his fingers through her fine red hair and pulled her close once more, the pair falling back onto the bed.

**~o0o~**

The next morning Lucius sat with a thick manila file folder on his desk and stared at the name neatly printed on it.

_Lacey Delaney_

When he had dropped the hint in front of his secretary that she was possibly looking at a raise if she might be a little bit more timely with his tasks, the folder had appeared on his desk not but an hour later, signaling to him that Narcissa had gotten to the girl first and probably asked her to delay files of women he seemed to be interested in. He chuckled darkly, knowing that all it took for most people to cave was a little bit of gold.

_Except for Lacey herself_, he mused, she wasn't so easily swayed by him.

He had spent the night in her tiny apartment and snuck away just before Diagon became populated once more, leaving a simple note on her bedside which he hoped she would be finding right about then. He didn't feel too horrible about leaving when she was still asleep, as she had done it to him, and he was all about tit for tat.

But what _had_ been running through his mind were the last words she had spoken to him: _But you belong to me too_.

At the time, he wasn't quite sure what to make of them, so he gave her an imperceptible nod and crushed his lips against hers, which lead to a deliciously wild fuck. But when he woke up, it had become clear what she requested. She wanted to be his equal.

He finally opened the folder in front of him and started to read. He was limited on knowledge about her when it came to hard facts, but he felt as if he knew her thoroughly already.

_Age: 24_

_Blood Status: Half-Blood_

Lucius surprisingly did not cringe in a way he knew he previously would, which he marked as a bad sign. It mean that he was already too far gone if he didn't give a damn if she was a half-blood. He had curbed his pureblood fanaticism significantly since the war, but none of his mistresses had ever been anything other than purebloods.

_Occupation: Secretary for Ronald Weasley (Head Auror) at the Ministry of Magic; Clerk at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_

_Residence: Apartment above Slug and Jigger's Apothecary, Diagon Alley, London, England_

_Family Residence: 312 Primpton Rd., Killarney, Ireland_

_Mother: Siobhan (MacMillan) Delaney (Pureblood) (Deceased)_

_Father: Liam Delaney (Muggle) 54_

_Brother: Colin Delaney (Half-blood) 30_

_Sister: Aislinn Delaney (Half-blood) 16_

_N.E.W.T.S: 5, All E's._

Lucius raised an eyebrow at the last bit of information. He hadn't known she had gone back to Hogwarts to complete her 7th year, let alone done so well. He couldn't understand why she was a secretary to the Weasley oaf if she had done so well on her exams, but realized Quidditch was probably her first love.

He moved past her basic information and further into the file, searching for something more personal. He knew Ministry files were just as intrusive as a skilled Legillimens and smiled when he pulled a sheet of paper out of the stack.

_Romantic Relationships:_

_Anthony Goldstein: 2 years (1997-1999)_

_Oliver Wood (currently engaged to Katie Bell): 2002-May 2005_

A little bit of further snooping confirmed to Lucius that she had been with Wood up until his engagement and he wondered if that was why she had seemed so hesitant about anything romantic as from what it looked like, the engagement seemed to come out of nowhere. It seemed that she didn't have much experience in the way of relationships, but she was experienced enough in the bedroom, and he was momentarily thankful that the Ministry didn't keep track of one-night stands. He swallowed back a bit of jealousy at the thought and closed her file. He found what he needed and nothing, despite his quiet hope that he would and it would save him the heartache, deterred him from her.

**~o0o~**

When Lacey awoke and caught sight of the time, she instantly scrambled out of bed. She only had a few minutes before she would be exceedingly late for her job and realized that being shagged thoroughly two consecutive times was not conducive to waking up early. Her body protested against her because it was so sore, but she forced herself to get ready as quickly as she could. When she bent to slip her heels on, she noticed the small folded note on her bed stand and her stomach lurched rather pleasantly when she saw Lucius' handwriting.

_On your lunch break, please meet me here._

_-L_

It was then followed by an address she could use for the floos at the Ministry. With the excitement and anticipation of seeing him again so soon, and considerably less anger from waking up alone, she left her apartment for the Ministry.

**A/N: Where do you think Lucius is taking her? Do you think Sirius and Ginny will fully make up? Will Narcissa change her mind? I would love to hear your thoughts!**


	13. Kept

**A/N: Sorry this took a while to get out to you all. I had the stomach flu and I pretty much just slept and ate non-solids, but I do hope you enjoy!**

**~o0o~**

Lacey was thankful that Ron didn't even glance up from his desk when she skittered to a halt in front of her own, a half an hour late that morning. She was flushed, her hair messier than normal (thrown up hurriedly in something slightly resembling a chignon) and she was wearing flats for the first time since her so-called 'transformation' and complete wardrobe overhaul. It certainly wasn't a very auspicious start to the morning.

It proceeded to get worse for Lacey when Draco Malfoy traipsed haughtily into the Auror office, garnering glances from the newest Aurors and a foul look from Ron behind the glass door of his office.

"Good morning Lacey," the blonde said rather boredly, stopping in front of her desk and placing both of his palms on it. She didn't look up at his face, merely glanced at his almost neurotically well-manicured hands.

"Draco," she greeted simply. It was half past ten and she was already knee-deep in paperwork.

"You have dinner plans," he proceeded in a quieter voice, well aware that Ron was staring daggers at him while on his mobile with Luna, clearly trying to twist the grimace of his face into something resembling a smile to pull off a more pleasing tone with his wife.

"No, I do not. I am staying home, ordering takeaway, and taking a bath," she mused, her eyes quickly scanning a document and Draco tapped his fingers impatiently on her desk.

"Myself, my father, Astoria, and you are having dinner together at the Manor at eight. You said you wanted to meet her. So, I arranged it," he whispered, bowing his head a little bit lower, although his prolonged stay was starting to get rather suspicious and Lacey silently willed him to go away. Harry's office door had just opened and it was clear everyone was curious as to why Draco Malfoy kept visiting Lacey. Sometimes the Ministry was nothing more than a glorified gossip mill.

This finally made Lacey look up, with something akin to horror on her face, "What about your mother?"

"She has plans. It was originally supposed to be a _Malfoy only_ dinner, but since she has an outing with some of her friends planned, I am inviting you instead."

"Does your fiancée know?"

"Merlin, Lacey don't be daft!" Draco hissed at her, clearly more than annoyed now as he began to fiddle with his cufflinks, "I thought you would have a bigger brain to fit into your ridiculously tall body."

"And I thought you would have a bigger dick, but apparently you don't if you are going to bombard your fiancée with a dinner with her future father-in-law's lover!" Lacey looked up at him with a smirk, keeping her voice low, although she could hear some rustling in Ron's office.

"My dick is more than big enough Lacey, I assure you. _I am sure you would like to know_," he smirked back, straightening himself as he pulled away from her desk, "But she won't act as she would normally if I prepared her for it. Think about that Delaney," he moved to walk away but turned with an afterthought, "Oh, my father wants to know if you got his note?"

"Don't you have better things to do then play owl to Daddy, Draco?" Lacey faux-simpered, rolling her eyes.

"Well?" he prompted.

"Tell his exasperating arse to ask me himself if he wants to know something, now get out," she finished the conversation. With a smile, Draco sauntered back out of the Auror office and as Lacey expected, both Harry and Ron were on her in a moments' time.

"There has been far too much of Malfoy in this office lately," Harry started and Lacey had to laugh, thinking it hilarious that 'the Boy who Lived' was still anxious anytime one of the blondes came within a mile radius of him.

"Coincidental I am sure," Lacey brushed it off. She silently mused that if Harry knew about his ex's new bed-partner, his focus would not nearly be so much on the Malfoy family.

"Is he trying to get you to go out with him?" Ron asked, staring worriedly down at the girl he viewed as a little sister, although they were born merely a year apart.

"No, he is engaged, remember?"

"Not like that means anything to a Malfoy" Harry scoffed.

"Boys, I appreciate your concern alright, but nothing is going on. Draco is simply bored and running errands for his father. We do deal with the International Magical Office of Law pretty frequently," she shut them both up in an instant, "Now Harry, your one o'clock has been pushed to two and Ron, Kinglsey wants a word upstairs. He just sent a memo."

She pointed to the jumpy piece of paper on her desk and both men sighed, moving back into action for the day, but not without a bit of concern for the brunette.

**~o0o~**

"I can't even tell you how happy that I am that you are back in my arms, I was really worried about you love," Sirius sighed sleepily as he wrapped his arms tighter around Ginny. They had both decided that a lie-in would be best, having nowhere to be for the day, and Ginny had to admit that his arms were the best possible option of any plan she could have come up with.

"Can we talk about it?" she asked, getting right to the point. Although making up with him in the last few hours had been wonderful, she knew it was high time that their relationship became more than mind-blowing sex and shared jokes. Sirius moved away from her for a moment, sitting up on the bed and she did the same, so that they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Gin, you are scaring me. Did…did something happen?" Sirius asked with more than a hint of sadness in his voice as he pushed some of his hair back to keep it from falling into his eyes. Although he was usually never one to doubt his looks or sexual expertise, sometimes he felt that he didn't deserve Ginny and that he was going to lose her to someone else.

"I, well…when I left, I went to Harry's place…"she admitted and his face immediately fell. A few seconds of silence passed between them and she could tell he was clenching his jaw.

"So you went back to him…"

"No! Merlin, no Sirius I didn't sleep with him. He slept on his couch, he was mostly a gentleman…"

"_Mostly_?" Sirius cocked an eye-brow, more than a little pissed.

"Well of course he tried something but I said no. I told him I had a boyfriend who I was committed to and that he and I are not _ever_ going to be a couple again," she said firmly, her eyes flashing with emotion.

"Then why would you go to him Ginny, if you feel nothing for him? I mean, most of the world is wishing for you two to get back together. It would make your mother's life to see her baby with the 'Chosen One'" Sirius spat out bitterly, "Why there? Why not to Lacey's?"

"Because Harry knows things about me that most people don't. But now I want you to know them Sirius. We've been together for almost six months now and I want more than this hiding and sneaking around and these stupid fights. I know it is complicated and confusing between us, but with Narcissa being here, it has put me in a really bad place…"

"Because we have so little privacy?"

"No! Well, _sometimes_, but because of Lucius!" she sighed, her stomach wracked with nerves.

"What about him?"

"The diary, Sirius…I want to talk about the diary," her eyes were suddenly full of tears and he pulled her close to him in one of the bear hugs that only he knew how to give properly. He knew his revived relationship with his cousin raised many eyebrows, but he hadn't considered that his girlfriend would ever have a problem with it. It had of course shocked him to the core when his best friend had fallen for Narcissa, but Sirius knew better than anyone to go by the words 'innocent until proven guilty' otherwise he wouldn't be sitting in his bed at the moment. He knew that the only thing Narcissa was really guilty of was being a spoiled brat, coddling her son to no end, and letting her husband's activities, be them sexual or Deatheater related, slide past her. Lucius, on the other hand, Sirius had no respect for. He was proud and slightly stunned that Lacey had jumped into her task to seduce him so nobly to help Remus and Cissa, and of course wanted blather about the man's life, but there was no respect there once he had learned that he had been as cruel and careless as to slip a possessed diary to a young and impressionable girl: a girl that had grown up to be his girlfriend and lover.

"What did Lucius do to you?" Sirius very nearly growled, knowing by the look on Ginny's face that there was something more to the story. To his great relief she quickly shook her head and wiped some tears out of her eyes with the heels of her palms.

"Nothing, no….I've forgiven Lucius I have…but with Narcissa being with us so much…I mean, don't get me wrong Sirius, I _do_ like her….but it has just brought back some memories I always hoped to forget."

"Then tell me, my arms are always a safe place for you Ginny, and nothing you could tell me would ever make me love you less," he promised and she paused, grinning. There were very few times that the 'love' word had passed between them recently and she was grateful for it whenever it happened, as she knew she did love Sirius.

"Sirius," she sighed, holding his hands tightly, her little pale ones gripping his strong ones almost painfully, "Tom raped me in the Chamber of Secrets, before anyone got there."

Sirius felt as though he had been punched in the stomach as all of the air left him and he simultaneously felt a strong urge to vomit and to cry and to put a fist through the wall. His conflicted feelings tugged at his body so hard that it caused him to freeze.

"No one knows except Harry and Lacey, and now you…_please_ Sirius…don't look at me like that…"

"I'm not mad at you," he said gruffly, "I am just disgusted at the brutality of the dark magic that I am thankful every day is gone from this world…how someone could do that to a little girl…"

"Tom convinced me that he was in love with me, that I was his girlfriend…and it…" Ginny started to cry and Sirius pulled his fists away from her, "Stop calling him Tom!"

"That is what I knew Voldemort as and trust me when I say it is no endearment Sirius!" she yelled back at him, their faces inches from each other, both twisted in pain, sadness, and anger, "But I refuse to still be afraid of him like that if I can help it…"

"Ginny…"

"I just wanted you to know. I know Lucius didn't anticipate _that_, but I am still so pained by that, and I needed you to know so that you can know every part of me".

"I am so sorry Ginny, so so sorry," Sirius hugged her close to him again. Ginny felt closer to him than ever before, having finally let go of the part of her that she felt she had to hide from anyone. Nothing had ever been fully confirmed about that night, and she was never checked for sexual abuse and kept it to herself as she was too young and afraid to really know what had been happening. She just remembered the brutality of it, the slaps to her face, and the rough way the young incarnation of Tom Riddle had forced himself upon her, telling her that she was a stupid blood-traitor and an idiot to ever believe that he loved her, that he had only manipulated her. It was all a rush of memories now, and then blackness. When she had woken up, it had all been over.

When she had grown up a little more, and realized the severity of what happened, she didn't really want to tell her parents, as things were getting worse and worse in the wizarding world, and then her father had been bitten and almost died from Voldemort's damned snake. It was in those later years at Hogwarts that Ginny realized Voldemort and his Deatheaters were not above rape, and finally told Lacey, and then Harry about it when they started seeing each other, as Harry had been her first real sexual experience. After she had released it, she had wanted to bury it, but now she felt even better that Sirius knew everything.

"I want to go out tonight," she said suddenly, in a soft voice a little raspy from tears, "I want to go out in the world, you and me, and I don't give a flying fuck if anyone sees us. And I want to tell my family soon."

"Hold on now darling, one thing at a time," Sirius couldn't help but break into a little laughter that her tenacity had come back so quickly. Neither of them were ones to dwell on sad moments, but they appreciated them for what they were, and they moved on stronger than before.

"I am serious!"

"No, _I_ am, love," he winked at her and she launched herself at him, tickling him until he fell back in the twisted sheets, his bark-like laughter ringing through all of Grimmauld place, "Okay, okay fine, actual outside world date tonight, and possibly telling your mother after Remus proposes to Cissa…"

Ginny gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth, her pretty eyes wide, "He's proposing!"

"Shit that was not supposed to come out," Sirius shook his head, "You didn't hear it from me, but yes, after she tells Lucius to shove it."

Ginny could not have looked happier, she had always loved Remus as an uncle-figure in her life and wanted all the happiness in the world for the man, "But…he will steal our thunder!" she whined dramatically, flopping back on the bed, "We were supposed to be the earth-shattering news of the decade…" she laughed.

"He could never steal our thunder, Gin, and besides, you are always the center of my attention and isn't that all that matters?" he smiled at her.

**~o0o~**

Lacey looked around the airy room that she had stepped into and adjusted her clothes from the floo travel. Her eyes lit upon the high ceilings, the multiple windows, the modern décor-everything was like something out of her dream house fantasy.

"Are you Miss Delaney?" a tall blonde woman with gorgeous emerald eyes walked into the room and startled Lacey. She was nearly all leg and dressed in business attire, carrying a black leather padfolio.

"Yes, who are you?"

"Annie Benson. Mr. Malfoy is in the dining room and wanted me to come and retrieve you," she said primly. She looked absolutely dripping with money, and carried herself like Lacey figured a much younger Narcissa would as she led Lacey down the completely glass and see-through staircase that took her breath away. The woman's heels clicked on every step and Lacey suddenly felt very self-conscious as she led her into the dining room filled with natural light from all of the windows. Lucius was standing in the middle of it, one hand on a chair of the long dining room table, looking rather pleased with himself.

"Do you like it?" he asked and Lacey blushed when she noticed he didn't take his eyes off of her to look at Annie.

"It is gorgeous, but what am I doing here?"

"Helping me with a real-estate purchase," he said simply, "Annie, could you leave us for a moment? I will give her the tour."

"Yes Mr. Malfoy, just let me know when you need me," she smiled at him and Lacey watched. She could tell there was something there, at least on Annie's side of it, but to her relief, he didn't seem to notice or care. When Annie was out of the room, Lucius walked over to her, took her by her elbow and led her out into the main sitting room. It was spacious, with long white sectional couches and accents of black and red.

"This place is something else," Lacey said, not sure of what else to say. She honestly didn't even know why she was there, but she was just happy to be next to him, if the butterflies in her stomach were any indication.

"You look beautiful today, and you looked beautiful sleeping," he said simply in reply and his bluntness shocked her as he led her into the next room, a gorgeous stainless steel appliance kitchen with a high top bar and sleek black chairs surrounding it.

"Um, thank you?"

"Take the compliment Lacey," he said as he looked around the kitchen. Despite his words, his tone was rather teasing with her and a small smile played upon his lips as they toured some more rooms of the spacious house and then he led her back upstairs to tour a guest room, the small study which she had come through, and the master bedroom, which was completely exquisite. The bed was larger than any person would ever need and the entire room looked crisp, with some accents of red poppies in black vases on the low furnishings. The bathroom was just as modern, but also decadent, with a bathtub and shower made entirely of black marble. When Lacey emerged from the sizable walk-in closet, she gave Lucius an odd look.

"Why would you want to buy this place? It is pretty, but it seems a bit too feminine in some ways for your tastes," she mused, knowing he seemed to prefer the dark wood and leather that was his wing of Malfoy manor.

"It is for you," he said simply, and Lacey was pretty sure her mouth gaped open unattractively at the statement.

"For me? _Why in the world_…"

"Lacey," his tone took on a hint of edge and warning and he looked at her with cold eyes from across the room, "Your apartment is hardly livable, it has no floo, and it is nowhere a girl like you should be living."

"You can't just make decisions like that for me… I was going to find a new place in a few months…" she sighed, _with his wife's money_, she grimaced at the thought.

"Well, I thought you would like it," he frowned, "You deserve it and it is not as if I can have you staying over at the Manor every night."

"Oh," she realized what this was all about. Their deal. She was his mistress now, and now she was going to be 'kept', "So do you buy all of your mistresses houses?"

His eyebrows furrowed, "Annie never got one. Which is why she gave me _quite_ the attitude when I made this appointment, but she is a good realtor."

Lacey proceeded to gasp once again, "She…she was…"

"Don't look so surprised Lacey. And don't gawk like that…" he chided, "And if you want a straightforward answer, then I will give it. No, no one else has gotten a house."

Lacey's stomach plummeted and she couldn't quite grasp the emotions surging through her body. She was relieved, but scared, turned on, but sad, all at the same time.

"I…I really don't need it Lucius."

"Nonsense. I want you to have it. Think of it as what you might call a 'love nest' then, something that we can both use. And I don't want to hear another word about it. In truth, the papers were signed before you even got here, and I had someone come in very early this morning and change some of the decorations to be what I hoped were more to your liking," he told her and she couldn't help but smile when she once again noticed the vases of poppies around the bedroom.

"Where are we, exactly…"

"Swindon. Not far from the Manor, actually, and it's very quaint, so you won't be disturbed," he answered her, still looking her over for a definitive reaction. Lacey smirked, not surprised that Lucius would situate this house far enough, but not too far from the Manor in Wiltshire. She wondered if he got some sort of thrill of keeping things right under Narcissa's nose and much too close for comfort.

"_Oh_…" she breathed, looking around again. She couldn't even believe this was happening.

"Well, say something, girl," he prompted her with the infuriatingly patronizing look he could give. Lacey rolled her eyes and walked over to him, getting up on her tip-toes in her flats to kiss him in thanks. One hand insinuated itself within the messy bun on her head and the other slipped down to grab her arse, which made her wriggle and press herself against his body. They kissed for a long moment until Lacey pulled away, remembering that Annie was still somewhere in the house.

Lucius straightened his jacked and robes, "Shall we?" he asked, his voice affected from being clearly turned on and the dangerous glare in his eyes promised Lacey that they weren't done.

Soon they were back in the living room with Annie and Lacey was passed some documents to sign, but Lucius did most of the paperwork. She did catch a glimpse of the price of the house and nearly fainted. He was now 6.7 million galleons less wealthy.

"Well, as always, a pleasure Mr. Malfoy," Annie said, a bit too flirtatiously for Lacey's liking as she stood up with all of the paperwork and the cheque for the house, "And Miss Delaney, _so _nice to meet you." She smiled at the brunette, although it looked clearly fake, before apparating out of the house. Lacey groaned when she saw the time.

"I have to get to Diagon or Fred and George are going to murder me," she told Lucius apologetically. She had been late to one job already that day, and had no intentions of making the twins, and especially Fred, even more upset.

"You have a few moments," he said smoothly, "And it is only right to christen a new property. I may not be the biggest fan of muggles, but they do have some bizarre rituals that I completely support."

Lacey froze, her body already tensing for what she knew was ahead of her. Anytime that Lucius got that predatory look in his eye, she knew she was done for. There was no way she could deny him, work or otherwise. Half of her wanted to slap him upside of his regal blonde head for buying her a ridiculously expensive house, but the other half was spurred on by feeling special and spoiled from the act. She couldn't believe that she liked this kind of attention, from a man she knew she should hate and yet…since she had let herself promise to be his, it hardly mattered how much harder she fell. She was already in too deep.

Lucius was quick to kiss her, capturing her lips in a slow kiss that quickly turned more passionate and animalistic as they both started blindly reaching around each other to try and remove as much clothing as they could. They were up off of the couch, his hands all over her, leaving a trail of outer robes, shoes, and shirts in their wake until Lucius pressed her up against the nearest wall. When he was satisfied with her state of undress, which was just her in her panties, he took himself out of his trousers with one hand and captured both of her tiny wrists in his other. Lucius simultaneously thrust into her, so hard that he didn't even have to help himself in, and pinned her wrists above her head, flush to the wall.

He nipped hard right at her collarbone as he drove himself into her and flicked her clit with his free hand in time with his thrusts until he had her practically incoherent against him. Her legs were wrapped around his torso, her toes curling and her calves spasming as her body hurtled towards orgasm. The inner walls of her pussy fluttering against his velvet length didn't slow him down and he drove up into her, capturing her lips once again, effectively stifling her moan for him when she came. He followed not but moments later, her tightness milking him for all that he was worth until they both came to rest. Lacey's head fell back against the wall and Lucius let her arms down. She moved them to hold him against her as she unwrapped her legs from where they had been tightly clenched around his waist and found her shaky footing on the black berber carpet.

"You know, I do _not_ like that you did this for me," Lacey explained breathlessly, her eyes trialing around the room they had enjoyed their first frantic fuck in: their hideway, their love nest.

"I know, but you let me do it, and thats a start," he grinned.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! I would love a review telling me what you thought. What do you think of Lacey's new living arrangements? Of Ginny and Sirius? What do you think will happen at dinner? I would love to hear your thoughts! **


	14. Dinner from Hell

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last update, but I am on vacation miles and miles away from my home, but I still had to write for you guys! Updates will be more regular when I get back! Xx**

**~o0o~**

"_Lacey_!"

She skidded to a guilty halt in front of George Weasley after attempting to quickly sneak in the back of the shop. She was still in the process of putting her jumper on over her tank top and she locked wary eyes with her friend.

"Yes?"

"Oh, don't play dumb, you are late and Fred is going to wring your neck!" there was a playful smirk on his face and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Only_ Fred?"

"Well, come on then…" George rolled his eyes, grabbed Lacey by the arm, and pulled her behind the counter. It was mid-afternoon and the shop was teeming with customers, but he was hardly concerned about that at the moment. After all, their products practically sold themselves.

"Are you going to yell at me about him then?" Lacey placed her hands on her hips and titled her chin up just slightly to stare him down, once again thankful for her usually ungainly height. George frowned and looked away from her for a moment, unsure of exactly what to say, which Lacey found odd. The twins usually just blurted out whatever popped into their bizarre brains-both their gift and curse.

"Lace, you and I are friends…you are a sister to me…but I don't want to see him get hurt. We all see how different you've been acting lately, and there seems like no other reason why you would say no to Fred unless there was another guy…" George shrugged apologetically. He was conflicted about bringing the matter up, but having seen Fred sulk around all morning, he thought it for the best.

"It's poor timing. I _really_ have to get out on the floor…"

"Who is he?"

"No one…"

"Well, it's obviously _someone_," George moved to block Lacey from slipping out from behind the counter. Her eyes scanned the lively shop for any sign of the other red-head and came up empty-handed, much to her relief.

"You've just been shagged Lacey, either that or you just ran a mile…and we all know you don't run…"

Lacey blushed crimson and literally pushed against George to get away from the awkward conversation, but he was still too strong for her, "You don't know that."

"Oh, I do," he smirked, "I look at Angie every morning…she has the same look after we are through…"

"_Gross_!" she groaned in reply, "Please George, who I am dating, or shagging, or _whatever_, is neither yours nor Fred's business!"

"Ron says you've been pretty chummy with Draco Malfoy at the office lately…" his tone had turned suddenly accusatory and it was clear he was jumping to the worst-case-scenario in his mind, which in reality, wasn't far from the truth.

"I'm Ron's bloody secretary! People come and see me when they need things! Draco and I are _far_ from chummy," she rolled her eyes, "Please just let me work and stop trying to figure this out because you never will and I guarantee that you don't want to George."

He let her slip by him only from the desperate look on her face and watched her as she turned on a smile for a father and his son, leading them over to some firecrackers. He had always thought Lacey and his twin would make a great pair, in the same way that he and Angelina did, and was truly puzzled. He had grown up with the girl, and now he felt he hardly knew her.

**~o0o~**

A few hours later, Lacey was at her 'new' house with the rest of her things from her old apartment in tow as well as her owl, Nikki, from above the Apothecary. It was still odd to her that a place so beautiful was now her home, and that she didn't have rent to worry about anymore. She had initially thought about keeping her former apartment, but no one besides Ginny…and that one time visit from Fred…had been there in a while so she had no need to keep up the appearance of it and had moved everything out.

She was un-shrinking all of her belongings from her one shabby suitcase when a particularly small female house elf appeared in front of her. Lacey let out a scream and jumped back at the sight of the pinkish-tinged elf.

"Hello!" the elf said brightly, "I's is Skippy, Missus' new house elf!"

"I am sorry Skippy, but I don't have a house elf. Never had, never will. Thanks but no thanks. Go back to wherever you guys come from," Lacey said after recovering from her shock. Unfortunately her refusal of Skippy's services sent the poor thing into a tizzy.

"But…but….then Skippy will be bad elf! Mister Malfoy said I must be your house elf and help you!"

Lacey's eyes narrowed, "You were sent by Lucius Malfoy? _To be my house elf_?"

"Yes Missus."

Lacey couldn't have been more mad. It wasn't that she was against having a house elf…she wasn't nearly at all like Hermione in that aspect…but it was just that she had been raised to take care of herself and she wanted it to stay that way.

"_Stop_," she ordered Skippy to cease slapping herself in the face, "You can stay for now while I figure this out. And call me Lacey okay?"

"Yes, Miss Lacey. Skippy is so happy to serve you!" she beamed, her little smile covering all of her slightly lumpy face.

"Right…_um_…I don't need anything right now so I suppose you can go do whatever it is you do when you aren't serving people?" Lacey suggested awkwardly, and with a 'pop', Skippy was gone.

Lacey quickly hastened up the stairs to her new bedroom and with a glance at the time, knew she had to hurry to get ready for the dinner with Astoria and Draco at Malfoy manor.

**~o0o~**

"Where is she?" Draco asked impatiently. He was sitting next to his fiancée and across from his father at the very long and overly ornate table in the main dining room. It was almost ridiculous for only four people to sit at it, but the present company did, waiting for Lacey to arrive.

Lucius was more than just agitated, he was bordering on semi-furious with his lover and mistress. It was fifteen minutes past six- the time which she had been told to join them, and she wasn't in the manor. He was clenching and un-clenching his fist on top of the dark wood table, taking long sips of his wine to fill the uncomfortable silence. He was wearing his best suit and Draco was dressed up just as well. Astoria Greengrass sat next to him, with her auburn hair piled high up on her head and a slinky green dress covering her body. She had a smattering of freckles across her rosy cheeks and a perfectly sloped nose and rose-petal shaped lips. She looked every inch the perfect pureblood wife to be and it wasn't lost on either of the Malfoy men, but Lucius couldn't help but feel she was trying too hard. Her makeup was a bit too much for her pale skin and her dress dipped far too low to be appropriate for a dinner with her future father-in-law. If Lucius hadn't known she had been raised properly in a wealthy and pure family, he would have thought her quite cheap looking.

"I can't wait to see Narcissa again," Astoria filled the silence dumbly, completely unaware of who they were actually waiting for. Neither Draco nor Lucius bothered to correct her, both too nervous. Narcissa had actually left the manor an hour earlier with the excuse to Lucius that she was having dinner and drinks with her friends Grace and Layla, both of whom ran in the highest of pureblood circles with the Malfoys. However, what she was really doing was a certain ruggedly handsome werewolf.

Astoria was making small-talk about the décor and Draco and Lucius were drinking like fish that had been out of water when Lacey finally appeared through the double doors of the dining room, having been led there by Mipsy. Draco almost spit his gulp of wine out all over his father at her appearance, but thankfully Lucius was able to hold it together a bit better.

He found it amazing at how he had been so angry with her a moment before, and the moment she walked into the room, it nearly disappeared. Instead of watching her walk towards the table, he stared at his empty plate with his cold blue eyes and tried to remember how that anger felt, instead of noticing how stunning she looked.

Lacey tried her best to smile demurely at Astoria, who was baffled, as she took her seat next to Lucius. She had chosen to wear her hair loose and long down her back, very little makeup, and a pretty shimmery grey taffeta dress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt, finished with matching grey heels. The color played nicely off her skin tone and was classy enough for such an event, in that it only really showed off her legs. Her full breasts were covered by the fabric of the bodice and the cap sleeves. Lucius and Draco both noticed this, but Astoria was still too busy gaping unattractively.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you Astoria, I have heard so much about you. I'm Lacey Delaney," Lacey started, when it had become painfully clear that Lucius wasn't going to introduce her and Draco seemed to have lost his tongue. When addressed, the girl looked positively enraged.

"Who are _you_?"

"Oh, how wonderful, no one bothered to even warn her," Lacey rolled her eyes at the two blondes to her right, feeling almost bad for the girl in front of her. Thankfully, Lucius cleared his throat and in the charming, low tone that only he had mastered, spoke quickly to try and smooth out the situation.

"I know you were expecting to have dinner with Narcissa, but this is a woman who is very important to me," Lucius started and Lacey was a bit shocked at his words, and wondered if they were truthful, "and it is best if you get to know her, as you are most likely going to be seeing a lot of her."

Now it was Lacey's turn to feel at a loss for words. She always found it hard to tell with Lucius and had originally thought of this dinner as a way to meet and judge Astoria and her feelings for him, but it seemed he also had some sort of plan on his side of it.

"So, you're his whore."

"_Astoria_!" Draco snapped at her, flushing in embarrassment. Lacey was quite shocked herself…she was surprised such a pretty little pureblood girl would dare speak out like that. She was also rather miffed that Lucius said nothing about the comment and tried to catch his eye to give him a dirty look, but eventually just settled her cold gaze back on Astoria.

"Basically," Lacey goaded Astoria further by winking at her when she had recovered from the red-head's verbal slap. Astoria made a grimace in reply as they were served soup.

The conversation took a rapid plummet and all that could be heard around the table was the careful slurping of soup. Things then progressed back to idle chatter, in which Lacey kept quiet, keener on watching Astoria.

"How's work at the ministry Mr. Malfoy?" Astoria asked, much too interestedly than any woman should have and this was the first negative sign in the direction Draco had feared. Lacey shot him a warning glance across the table, but the younger blonde seemed all too aware of the way his fiancée leaned towards his father, resting her cute chin in her hands as she looked at him with her head slightly cocked to the side. It made Lacey want to throw up the delicious lobster bisque.

"No complaints," Lucius answered with a polite smile as plates were being removed and replaced with salad.

"Really? One would think it would be _so hard_! I mean, you work _so much_…" Astoria started to go on again and Lacey literally contemplated stabbing her hand with a fork. She couldn't believe how ridiculously hard she was trying…and failing…at flirting with Lucius with Draco sitting right next to her.

"He does work _oh so very hard_ Astoria", Lacey did her best impression of her snooty voice, "but trust me when I say he has time to relax. Now, how is the wedding planning going?" Lacey tried to steer the conversation away from Lucius and although Astoria looked momentarily off-put, she followed.

"Wonderful. Everything is nearly all set…isn't it Draco?" he gave a perfunctory nod, "Just the wedding shower left, and the hen party, and then the big day!" she clapped her hands together theatrically and Lacey smiled. She knew Astoria would make a perfect trophy wife for someone one day, but it wouldn't be Draco.

"You know, Astoria," Lucius spoke up and all eyes turned to him, "It would be lovely if you could make room in your bridal party for Lacey."

Both girls could not have looked more disgusted for a split-second if they had tried, but Draco immediately chimed in that it was a great idea. All Astoria could bring herself to do was nod and pick at the arugula salad placed before her. Lacey, on the other hand, fought an overwhelming desire to laugh at the absurdity of it. She had no idea why Lucius would even suggest such a thing, unless it was to tease Astoria further.

When the salad plates were cleared, Astoria once again tried to flirt with Lucius as Lacey sipped delicately at her wine, trying her best to not get too drunk. She was thoroughly surprised, however, when she felt a large hand on her thigh, right above her knee. A quick, discreet glance down confirmed that it was Lucius, who was rubbing her warm thigh gently, but continuing his conversation with Draco and Astoria without skipping a beat. When his fingers inched towards her sensitive inner thigh, she tried hard to not make any noise, but just slightly moved in her chair, enough to let him have the satisfaction of knowing her had affected her. She saw the slight smirk play on the corner of his lips but then disappear when Astoria asked his opinion on flowers for her bouquet.

As she noticed Draco scowl into his glass of wine, she placed her hand on top of Lucius' and pushed his off of her thigh, but he only took it away for a moment and then replaced it stealthily higher up her thigh for a few minutes longer, teasing her before dinner was in front of them.

"So, Lacey, how long have you known Lucius?" Astoria finally turned her attention to her, and Lacey was surprised it had taken her so long to start on this line of questioning. Lucius turned his head towards her slightly, with an amused smile on his face as he chewed some of his filet.

"A few weeks."

"Ah, you know…you look oddly familiar…"

"Well, we did go to Hogwarts together, you were a year below me, and I played for the Harpies…so if you are a Quidditch fan…"

"I hate Quidditch," her nose wrinkled as if she had smelled something foul, "Must have been from Hogwarts then."

"Must have been," Lacey repeated with a too-sugary tone in her voice that Lucius nearly laughed at. He could tell she was annoyed, even from only knowing her a short time.

"Ginny Weasley's friend?"

"Yeah, _that's my name_," Lacey rolled her eyes. She loved Gin with all of her heart, but she was getting a little bit tired of the sidekick thing.

"A damned fool for not getting married to Harry Potter. I _loathe_ the man myself, but still, she could have tried to improve her blood-traitor status a bit by hitching herself to the 'Boy Who Lived' you know?…"

Lacey's eyes went wide and she took a deep, shaky breath, "The war has been over for a fucking long time Astoria, and for you to still call the Weasley's blood traitors at this point is beyond ridiculous, even for a haughty, albeit _idiotic_ pureblood. And for your information," Lacey had stood up from the table at this point and was telling Astoria off from her full and rather intimidating height, "Harry Potter was an arse to Ginny and she had every right to get far, far away from him!"

All three pairs of eyes watched as she threw her napkin down on the table and stormed out of the dining room, the double doors resounding behind her. Lucius gave the younger couple an apologetic look before getting up and following her, which left Draco and Astoria alone, with Draco staring awkwardly at his food and waiting for his fiancée to start bitching.

It took her no more than a few seconds before she turned to Draco, "She's _awful_ Draco, truly awful. I mean, what is your father thinking? Am I right in assuming she's not a pureblood?"

"No, she's a half-blood," Draco confirmed, frowning, and quickly added, "But it hardly matters anymore Astoria, you know that…"

"Who are you and what have you done with my Draco?" her eyes went wide and she once again took on a look of horror and disgust, "Your father is _seriously _embarrassing himself by sleeping with the likes of her. And having her meet me and even go so far as to suggest I should offer her a place in my wedding party?!"

"Well…" Draco was wholly uncomfortable now. He hadn't thought the dinner would have gone _that_ badly. He was starting to like and even respect Lacey, and Astoria was frankly pissing him off.

"And I am assuming your mother doesn't know? _How horrible_. I should tell her…"

"He's had plenty of mistresses before. She's well aware of the situation."

Astoria froze. She wasn't the brightest witch, but her mind had started rolling in a different direction, "So, is this some sort of a Malfoy thing?"

Draco looked defeated, and with a heavy sigh said, "Sort of. For my father it is, but I do not have any intention of taking anyone else to my bed. Is that sufficient?"

"Fine," she dropped it and went about finishing her meal regardless of the lack of Lucius and Lacey, "But she won't be in my wedding party. She's honestly a heinous bitch."

Draco rolled his eyes and picked idly at his food while Astoria stewed in quiet jealousy.

**~o0o~**

"You had absolutely no right to storm out of the dining room like a petulant little brat!" Lucius scolded Lacey the second he had closed the dining room doors behind him. She was leaning with her back against the opposite wall of the hallway with her arms crossed.

"Sorry," she replied without much sincerity.

"You are _not_ my wife and you cannot just do as you please around here…" he continued and Lacey bit into her tongue so hard she tasted the iron of her blood.

"I may not be _Mrs. Malfoy_ but I do have certain rights as a human being, one of which is that I can say whatever I want, especially when someone else is insulting myself and my best friend!" Lacey fired back.

Lucius stiffened and with a deep breath changed the tone of his voice slightly, trying to calm himself down, "Well, you can't be rude in front of a guest."

"Guest, _ha_!" Lacey snorted, "You are only saying that because you want to fuck her."

The tension between the two in the hallway was so thick that their magic was sending sparks off both of their bodies. Lucius took one solid step towards her but Lacey only straightened her spine up to its full height, looking into his similar colored eyes bravely.

"Why would you say that?" he asked, his voice deep and cutting.

"Did you not even hear her? _Oh Mr. Malfoy this_ and _Mr. Malfoy that_…" Lacey rolled her eyes and did a rather good impression of Astoria's simpering voice, "She wants you. Are you going to steal another one of your son's girlfriends?"

"Watch yourself Lacey," he warned her, "I don't tolerate jealousy."

"Oh, but it is okay for you to be jealous right? Okay to be jealous of Fred? What a double fucking standard Lucius!" Lacey raised her voice even louder, her stance one for fighting.

"In case you have so quickly forgotten, I bought _you_ a house today. I am having dinner with _you_ in front of my son and his fiancée. _You_ are clearly different!" he told her through gritted teeth and although it made butterflies spring up in Lacey's chest, most of her was too enraged to think about the meaning behind his words.

"Oh, _right_, the house that came with a bloody house elf that I don't want. I am not some dumb twit that can't do anything for herself!"

"Lacey, you stubborn girl, do you hear a thing I am saying?"

"Yes, Lucius I do!" she cried, exasperated, "And I know it's only a matter of time before I am replaced…possibly by _her_…" she jabbed her finger aggressively at the double doors.

"No." his reply was simple as he stared at her, but she still didn't believe him. A few weeks ago she would have been glad to hear that answer, as it meant that she had succeeded in luring him in far enough to break his heart just like Narcissa and everyone else in on the deal wanted, but now that she wanted him just as much, she found it hard to believe him. Her mind was so clouded with doubt.

"When you said that I was yours, that I was your mistress, I said I wanted you to belong to me as well. But you…" her voice broke as she was overcome with emotion, "you didn't say a damn thing when she called me a whore. _Not one damn word_!"

Lucius lowered his eyes, mulling over her words, "I regret it. Now, I should go back inside. You can join me if you want."

Although Lacey was annoyed at his poor excuse for an apology, she shook her head and backed up against the wall again, replacing her arms against her chest.

"Very well. Stay there then. This conversation is far from over." Lucius told her and disappeared back through the double doors.

She heard muffled voices for a few long moments and then the door opened again, this time with a younger Malfoy facing her.

"Nice show Delaney," he said, with something akin to pride, "You thoroughly pissed her off."

"_Good_. Draco she's terrible and it's pretty obvious she wants your father, but I can tell you that she hasn't slept with him, _yet_." Lacey added the last word with a shudder.

"I know. I didn't want to believe it; I wanted to think she was different…" Malfoy said with regret in his voice.

"She's not."

"Well, you two have at least have one thing in common," he chuckled, but it made Lacey's eyes darken.

"No, we don't. She wants your father for his money and his reputation and the tattoo on his arm. _You_ never took the mark Draco. _You_ never spent time in Azkaban. Girls like her want that danger."

"And you don't? Why are you with him if not for all that Lacey?" Draco looked at her with curious eyes and she paused, truly thinking about it. All of those things repulsed her. She still wasn't used to seeing the Dark Mark on his forearm, hated how much money he spent on her even if it made her life better, and cringed at the thought of what he had done in his past. She couldn't very well tell him that she was with him by decree of his mother, but she would be lying if she said that now anyway. It was more than that.

"I care about him. I wasn't expecting to be with him, let alone sleep with him," Lacey said truthfully, but vaguely, "But it has developed into real feelings, and those feelings have nothing to do with what comes along with the Malfoy name."

"A Gryffindor through and through. I am impressed," Draco smirked. Although he wasn't totally accepting of the fact that his father had mistresses, he was glad his father had Lacey, in a strange way.

"Now that you are done being sentimental, where is she?"

"Convinced my father to show her the gardens," Draco said with gritted teeth.

"_Fuck_, well, come on…" Lacey sighed, her jealousy boiling up inside of her as she grabbed Draco by the hand and nearly ran with him to the foyer. She grabbed her coat where Mipsy had hung it up and shrugged it on, then grabbed her wand out of her purse. With little trouble she cast a strong disillusionment charm on both of them and linked her arm through Draco, asking him to take the lead out to the Malfoy gardens.

The moon was just rising in the twilight sky when they stepped out into the gardens, which were basically just perfectly sculpted and trimmed hedges making intricate patterns through the perfectly mowed grass. Here and there were beautifully manicured rose bushes and a pretty gazebo with vines growing on it in the middle of it all, emblazoned on the black wrought iron with the Malfoy crest. There were also a few fountains, one of which Lucius and Astoria were standing in front of.

Despite their invisibility, Draco and Lacey made their way silently closer to the pair, their idle chatter becoming clearer with each step, until they were situated behind a high hedge right near the fountain.

"It's beautiful Lucius," Astoria said and with a sharp intake of breath, Lacey made her feelings clear about the use of his given name when they were alone. Lucius made a noncommittal noise, his thoughts clearly elsewhere as he looked back at the Manor, but with a light tap on his arm, Astoria drew his attention back to her again.

"Are you looking forward to the wedding?" Lucius asked politely.

"Well, yes…" she seemed hesitant and Lacey felt Draco's arm stiffen next to hers at her uncertainty, "Could Lacey not be in my bridal party though?"

_Oh, you bold little bitch_ Lacey thought, listening for Lucius's reply.

"Why ever not?" he turned towards her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you see…" she was clearly trying to think of a polite way to say it, "It would be rather embarrassing to have your mistress there. It won't be good for photographs, nor will it look good in the Society pages or the Prophet…I mean, don't you care about people knowing?"

"Other people shouldn't concern themselves so much with my private business. It is between my family and myself, and since you are soon to be family, I would very much appreciate it if you were nice to Lacey," Lucius said with finality, but Astoria wasn't finished.

She changed tactics, shifting her weight and tilting her head coquettishly to the side, "Can I confide in you Lucius?"

"I suppose."

"Draco was wonderful at first, but he really isn't the one I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. I know purebloods don't marry for love and it _is_ a smart match, but…"

"_That bitch_!" Draco whispered under his breath so only Lacey could hear and she had to physically hold him back from interrupting them and exposing his disguise.

"Oh?" Lucius prompted her further and although she seemed nervous, she kept talking.

"He's sweet, but he's not nearly as experienced, or as handsome, or as intelligent as a man like you. I mean, Lacey is hardly an obstacle for me, _we both know that_, but if it wasn't for Narcissa, I'd much rather have you than Draco," Astoria batted her eyelashes up at the shocked man and both Lacey and Draco were ready to combust with anger. Everyone was shocked further when Astoria stood on her toes and kissed Lucius hard.

"There's your fucking undeniable proof Draco. I want my damn try-out now," Lacey hissed to him, trying to hold back tears. It had only been a second but she took off in a run out of the gardens, still disillusioned, trying to get as far away from everything as possible.

"Lacey?" Draco whipped around, feeling that her presence had left. There was emotion in his voice as well. The woman he thought he had fallen in love with was kissing his father and he turned back to see that Lucius had pushed Astoria off of him, rage written all over his chiseled features.

**A/N: Wow, a nice long chapter and lots of drama! What do you think Lacey will do? Lucius? I would love to hear your thoughts in a review so that even more can come soon!**


	15. The Truth of It

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out to you, but since I am now back from vacation, updates will be more regular. Also, if you are a fan of my sequel to 'The Lover', then check out the new chapter there as well! Thanks for reading, I appreciate it more than you know and I get so happy to see your reviews, favorites, and follows! Get ready for some angst!**

**~o0o~**

"Sirius!" Ginny managed to get out between howling bouts of laughter. She was shaking with the strength of the laughter, leaning against the hallway wall for support.

"What is so damn funny?" he asked, running a hand through his hair, but it immediately fell back into his face, looking even more perfectly disheveled than before and she laughed even more at the impossibility of it. She pointed to his legs before looking up at the ceiling of Grimmauld and saying, "Merlin, this is why I love you."

Sirius looked down at the tight leather pants he had put on for their first date out in public and then glanced at Ginny, who was wearing skintight leather pants as well, but Sirius much preferred the way hers looked. He fell into an easy laughter with her, feeding off of hers as it died down to just a flush and smile on her face, nearly making her glow.

"Well, you look sexy," Sirius smirked as he looked his girlfriend over. Although leather pants were a signature staple in his closet, he liked that Ginny had a similar sense of style. She was wearing heeled motorcycle boots to complement the black leather and a gauzy white shirt with some gold studs on the collar. Her hair was down and hanging over her pale shoulders beautifully.

"I told you to dress somewhat inconspicuously Sirius," she rolled her eyes, but it was more playful than anything as she grabbed his hand, secretly excited for the attention they would get. Before she managed to drag him down the staircase, Sirius pulled her back and knocked on Remus' bedroom door. When there was something of an agreeable murmur from within, he turned the knob.

"Goodbye lovebirds," he winked suggestively at Narcissa and Remus, who were cuddled up under his blankets. Narcissa popped her head up when Ginny filled the doorframe as well.

"Where are you two going?" she asked, somewhat dazed from what had just transpired between her and Remus. She was glad to see that Ginny had a smile on her face, as earlier they both had heard arguing coming from down the hall.

"Going out!" the red-head couldn't hide her enthusiasm and jumped about a half inch off of the floor in child-like excitement. Remus, ever the realist, finally lifted his head from the pillow.

"Do you two really think that is such a good idea?" he asked, glancing between the couple who looked very 'rock and roll' and every bit like they were a perfect match. Remus hoped for both of their sakes that this was it for them, as he wanted to see all of his friends happy.

"Don't start with me Moony, you two are going to face it soon enough, and like the both of you, I don't give a damn who is happy for me as long as I know it feels right. We were just stopping in to say that you have the whole house to yourselves. But don't make me regret leaving you two…" Sirius teased and his cousin blushed a bit, fiddling with the covers to push them up under her armpits and hide even more of herself.

"And Lacey hasn't stormed in in a fit of rage against my future daughter-in-law?" Narcissa asked with a grimace, knowing full well what she was thankfully missing at the Manor from a note from the brunette that had allowed her time to see Remus.

"What?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide in confusion as she and Lacey hadn't talked much since the awkward lunch interrupted by the Malfoys.

"I'll take that as a no and explain it later, have a nice time you two…"

"Mhmm, _please_ don't start any trouble out there," Remus sighed as his goodbye to the pair.

"But Sirius," Ginny smiled widely as they both made to leave the doorway, "Trouble is your middle name isn't it?"

"Why yes, love, it is" Sirius said and closed the door behind him slowly, not seeing Narcissa's eyes roll so hard they nearly went to the back of her head as Remus laughed and tackled her back down onto the bed. Ginny slipped her hand into the back pocket of Sirius' leather pants as he fetched the keys for his flying motorbike and they were off.

**~o0o~**

Draco couldn't watch the scene in front of him for a moment longer, as his pride and heart could no longer handle it. Although his father had pushed his fiancée away, he wasn't eager to see what would happen next and took off in a run in the direction of the front lawn, knowing that Lacey was probably sprinting towards the apparition point just outside of the gates.

He was able to tackle her to the damp grass a few moments later and a few of the ghostly white peacocks on the lawn squawked horribly into the otherwise silent night, but the dreadful noises the birds made masked Lacey's screams and sound hits against Draco's chest.

"_Get off of me!_" she elbowed him in the solar plexus and as Draco reeled for breath, she managed to get her tall body off of the ground. Her disillusionment charm was gone, as was his, and Draco looked up at her red, tear-streaked face before she turned and started marching resolutely towards the gates of the manor.

"Lacey, _fucking Merlin you hit hard_, Lacey come back inside with me please! It's not like I'm not mad!" Draco yelled after her, wondering if his father and Astoria could hear any of their pain caused from the sighting. He ran after Lacey and tugged hard on her arm until she whipped around to face him, right in front of the large Malfoy crest shining in the moonlight on the gate.

"If I go back into that house I will kill her and I really do not want to go to Azkaban tonight," she said slowly, with a scary glint in her light blue eyes that reminded Draco of his father.

"You won't _kill_ her," Draco shook his head although not quite convinced, "Besides, I wouldn't let you. I want that pleasure." He tried to come off as joking, but there was hurt in his eyes as well.

"I don't want to see him Draco."

"But you have to!" Draco tried to reason with her. He didn't know why, but after all of this, he couldn't help but feel they were friends in some odd way, and he wanted an ally in his fight as well, "You can't just walk away!"

"Watch me," Lacey told him, trying to blink away the kiss that seemed to have permanently affixed itself into her frontal lobe. The recent memory was everywhere, and it had mattered so much to her that it scared her.

When she turned her back to him again and her hands touched the gate, Draco whipped out his wand from his suit pocket and cast a quick _Petrificus Totalus_ on her. He watched her tall frame freeze and then fall back to the ground with a thud. With a heavy sigh, he performed a _Locomotor_ and levitated her in front of him, walking slowly back to the front doors of the manor and making sure she was in the safety of the ballroom with the doors locked before lifting both spells.

"What the fuck! I'll fucking kill you Draco!" Lacey yelled, her voice reverberating off of the empty ballroom walls. As she rolled over and attempted to stand up, she reached for her wand that she had slipped in between her cleavage under the high neck of her dress and found it missing. One look at Draco confirmed that he had it.

"Now I'll _really_ fucking kill you," she nearly growled, getting onto her feet.

"You are starting to remind me of my Aunt and it is a bit psychotic Lacey, so shut it down and I'll give you your bloody wand back alright?" Draco told her and watched as Lacey attempted to control her emotions. She looked down at her cocktail dress and tried to brush off the wet grass from the lawn and reached up to feel the messy state of her hair. She looked a wreck, but was still beautiful nonetheless, and nothing about her face looked amiss except for the faint tear marks.

"Sorry, I'm sorry…" Lacey apologized, realizing she had nearly been ready to _Crucio_ Astoria and was ashamed of it. That wasn't like her. She knew she had a bad temper when it came to Quidditch and wouldn't hesitate to play a little rough and dirty, but she had felt like a different person out in the gardens. A person positively consumed with jealousy and rage over one little kiss.

"It's fine," Draco sighed. They looked quite odd, the pair of them in the expansive and empty room, "_Dammit!_" he suddenly turned and pounded his fist against the wall, putting a sizable dent into it and Lacey immediately rushed over to him, taking his hand.

"It's not fucking fine," he finished, finally letting her have her wand to do damage control on his hand, "I thought Astoria was _it_ for me. I thought she was _different_ but at dinner everything that I hated in girls suddenly came out in her, and I had no idea she was like that…it was like she had been acting the whole time…"

"I'm not judging you Draco," Lacey said, turning his hand over in hers, "I understand. Girls can put up fronts. They can lie. They can be other people if they want to be."

She knew this better than anyone, and she also knew how complicated it could be to do so, "Just be happy it happened now before you got married and found your father shagging her up against some family heirloom."

Both Lacey and Draco fell into a painful silence, both playing that scenario out in their separate heads and torturing themselves with it. Finally Draco spoke, "He pushed her away out there Lacey."

Her blue eyes met his and she seemed to be trying to judge if he was lying or not, "It doesn't matter…"

"It _does_ matter. Look, I'm not such a bastard that I am eager to see two relationships ruined tonight!"

"He still kissed her for a moment, I'm not an idiot…" Lacey's anger was boiling back up uncomfortably in her body.

"Well can you blame the man? She's a good…" Draco went on, and then stopped abruptly at the murderous look in Lacey's eyes.

"Fuck you, I don't want to hear it!" Lacey yelled at him and once again Draco felt obliged to apologize, realizing that he had never apologized so much in one night and the feeling in general was quite foreign to him.

"_Merlin_, Lacey I'm sorry, _fuck_," Draco ran his hand over his face and couldn't help but think about what Lacey had said. His father _had_ kissed Astoria for a moment, albeit an extremely brief one, but it gave him painful flashbacks regarding Pansy. Now he had a wedding nearly all planned that he wouldn't be going to.

"He's a fucking…._UGH_!" Lacey groaned, stamping her heels like a child trying to get her way and turning her back towards Draco, looking across the room at the large windows that looked out upon the dark gardens. As far as she could tell there was no one out there anymore and her stomach seemed to somersault at the thought that Lucius may have taken Astoria elsewhere.

"You love him, don't you?"

Lacey's head whipped around and she studied Draco's very serious expression, "No, I don't love your father."

"You are a good liar Lacey, I have to say," Draco smirked, rather impressed. She turned her body fully towards him once again and placed her hands on her hips.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You are a skilled Occlumens, where did you learn it from?" Draco questioned.

"Professor Snape. When Harry was fed up with trying his hand at it, Dumbledore wanted Ginny to learn, seeing as she and Harry were closer than anything. And I was her best friend…and somewhat considered a weak link at the time…" Lacey answered.

"Yeah, I remember that no one really gave you your due credit, but you proved them wrong in the final battle," Draco complimented, once again finding the sensation foreign, but warranted. He had seen her hex the hell out of Deatheaters and nearly even him in the fray.

"Yeah, I did," she remembered with a proud smirk, "I take it someone taught you Legilimency then? Was it the same greasy man, rest his soul…"

"No, not Severus, my father. He is one of the best Legilimens I know. He's skilled as an Occlumens, but not like you. Nothing like you. I wouldn't have even known you were lying about loving him if I hadn't ventured to try…I mean, I've tried to get into your brain a few times in the last few weeks, but it's been solidly blocked. It's rather incredible. You let down your wall for a few seconds there in your tantrum and it was all right there…" Draco admitted and Lacey was both pissed beyond belief and rather proud of herself that her Occlumency had become so second-nature that she had been pushing Draco and most likely Lucius, out of her mind for a while now.

"Well, it hardly matters if I love him or not, tonight will be the last night I see him. It was a mistake getting involved with him," she sighed. _More like a mistake agreeing to his stupid wife _she thought to herself, making sure her walls were up once again before she did so, "I don't think your father knows how to love. He just knows how to fuck and buy a girl presents."

Draco winced at her bluntness, and had to agree with her on some points, but he knew in his heart that his father had loved his mother for a long time, and still loved her in a certain way. In his mind it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he could love again.

**~o0o~**

"How _dare_ you," Lucius sneered down at Astoria through gritted teeth. To his surprise, she did not seem regretful or even slightly scared at the menacing look on his face and even had the nerve to place her small hands on his chest. Lucius did not want to strike her, so he once again pushed her away, "Are you aware of what you are doing Miss Greengrass?"

"Of course I am, I thought…" she hesitated now, looking into his eyes and suddenly clearly realizing she had imagined any attraction to her on his part. However, she was more than shocked that he didn't eagerly reciprocate her advances, as most men usually did.

"You thought what? That I would be at all interested in you? That I would break up the impending marriage of you to my son?"

"_Well_," Astoria got a nasty glimmer in her eye, "I heard you came close to doing just that not too long ago."

Lucius fought hard to breathe through the anger filling up his body and puffing out his chest. His fists clenched so hard that his nails dug into the fleshy parts of his palms, "You are completely out of line and I would suggest that you leave immediately and consider yourself a single woman. I will not tolerate your presence in this manor _ever again_. Do I make myself clear?"

"Not quite, Lucius," Astoria got bolder the more he threatened her, which Lucius found both odd and a bit disturbing. This side of him-the truly dangerous side-rarely came out to play anymore and he gathered that she was not lying when she said Draco was not the man she wanted. Clearly she wanted a Deatheater, or something very close to one. Although that was part of his resume and in his past, he never wanted to go back to that place and was rather disgusted that some pureblood girls still lusted for things like that.

"_Go_," he ordered her again and still she did not move except to pop her hip out flirtatiously, but it was fruitless, "I won't ask you again, Miss Greengrass. I am not only horrified that you would think to come into my home with designs to seduce me, but to do so in front of my…" he faltered.

"Your what? _Whore_?" she raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow and she pushed her lips together in amusement, "You are telling me that you, Lucius Malfoy, the man I have heard so many rumors about from my friends that you have fucked, is attempting to stay faithful to some half-blood slut?"

"_That is enough!_" Lucius roared.

"Well, you don't even know what to call her!" her high-pitched voice rang out in cruel laughter and regret filled Lucius. All he could think about was how he had left Lacey in the lurch with Astoria, letting the red-head call her names and bully her all throughout dinner, with not so much as any reassurance from him. He hated himself.

"She is my _lover_ and my _mistress_ and my _girlfriend_ and I care about her, as I have tried to tell you," he said with an acidity to his voice that made her stop laughing, "Now that that is clear, you will leave and I will make it my mission in life to make sure than no respectable man ever goes within ten yards of you again."

"You'll regret being with a slag like that in no time Lucius and it's a real shame too," Astoria sighed dramatically, letting go of any remaining shreds of dignity and clearly hoping he would come around but he stood there like stone, his cold eyes willing her to disappear.

"Lacey is so much more of a woman than you will ever be and I am ashamed that I ever let you anywhere near my son or myself," Lucius finished the conversation and when it was clear the irritating girl was not moving, he left her alone in the gardens and strode purposefully into the house in search of Lacey.

**A/N: The L word kind of makes an appearance! Okay, so there is a part two to this chapter and it will be up within the next few days, but I wanted you guys to have something in the meantime for all of your amazing love. I would love to hear what you think!**


	16. Affection

**A/N: and here is part two of all of this madness. Enjoy! Thanks for the kind words and awesome reviews! This chapter is rated a very very strong M, and special thanks to InvisibleMoony for all the love she has been sending my way lately! Enjoy everyone!**

**~o0o~**

"Where is she?" Lucius' eyes scanned the ballroom and only found his son looking as if he had seen a ghost. When Draco didn't answer, Lucius asked again, with more panic in his voice.

"Oh, she just left for your floo," Draco responded lifelessly, still not meeting his father's eyes. There was so much Lucius wanted to say to him, but he was now certain that Draco trusted him even less than before. From the hollowness in the blue eyes of his son, Lucius understood that Draco had seen Astoria kiss him, and could only assume that Lacey did as well. He knew he was vying for the worst father of the year award, or probably the decade, but he turned on his heel and as soon as he was out of the ballroom and had no need for composure, sprinted up to his study. As he wrenched the door open he saw Lacey with a palm full of floo powder, in the middle of her request of location and he yanked her body away from the fireplace.

"Get the hell away from me and let me go," Lacey said sharply. She had been seconds away from disappearing and was more than angry that she was once again looking at the man she was falling in love with, or possibly was in love with, she couldn't exactly be sure with her level of loathing towards him skyrocketing. She had thought that there was a chance that she wouldn't ever have to see him again, but she felt so naïve for thinking such a thing. He didn't loosen his grasp on her upper arm and she finally stopped trying to throw her body weight in the direction of the floo and stood, panting in frustration and emotion, submitting to staying.

"You saw…"

"Of course I fucking saw it, do you think I would be trying to escape this hellish place if I didn't? This whole night was a complete disaster and now I know that this," she did the best she could to throw her hands manically in the space between them, miming something meaning 'us', "was a huge mistake."

"If you will just let me explain…" Lucius interrupted her, but his speech was deliberate, slow, and surprisingly calm.

"I don't need you to explain anything, thanks," she kept up her aggressive attitude, trying to build up her emotional walls so high that they could not be breached, even by him. Lucius' hand loosened from her upper arm and slid down the smooth flesh, pausing for a half second at the crook of her elbow and then trailing down her forearm until he was holding her hand and trying to pull her closer. In response Lacey whipped her hand away from him, looking disgusted, and pulled her wand out of her purse that was slung over her shoulder, holding it at the ready, but at waist level.

Slowly Lucius raised his hands in the air, his eyes trained on her wand. From impromptu duels in his younger days with Narcissa, he knew better than to trust an angry and armed witch.

"Now Lacey, there is no need for that," he tried to smile and when Lacey saw that it was one of her favorite smiles of his, the one that twitched up the left side of his face in an innocent, boyish way, she averted her eyes and focused on a space of wall behind his blonde head.

"It's not going to be that easy Lucius, if you want me to stay," she told him simply and raised her wand a little bit higher. She felt an odd power in it, having one of the most powerful wizards threatened by her wand.

"Why did you bring your wand?" Lucius asked, trying to distract her a bit, slowly lowering his arms.

"I think the better question is, why would I walk into this manor without one?"

"Don't you trust me?" Lucius asked, his eyes opening a little wider as he saw the confused look on his mistresses face and he could sense that he had touched a nerve with her.

"Obviously not," she scoffed, rolling her eyes after a moment of contemplation. She had begun to trust him before that night. She had been willing to risk everything to be with him…_really_ be with him despite the task set out for her…but now she didn't know.

"Right," he nodded. He normally had no patience for a woman's jealousy, but from Lacey he partly enjoyed it-knowing that she was this angry over him-and yet the rest of him felt horrible. He thought of how she and Fred has kissed, but if he had actually seen it, he was sure he wouldn't have acted reasonably, "But you have to know that Miss Greengrass was completely out of line and I pushed her away."

"After snogging her for a moment! I was there! Draco and I were standing in the gardens right in front of you. I saw it all. I heard it all! If you really didn't want to kiss her, then it wouldn't have even gotten that far!" Lacey shouted at him, not afraid to raise her voice to him and her posture rose too. She drew herself up to all of her five foot seven inches and her hand holding her wand was visibly shaking.

Lucius knew he shouldn't have let it get that far. He knew, now looking back on the dinner, that Astoria had been trying to get him to that point all night, but he had thought nothing of it. All he had been thinking about outside was Lacey, and she had pressed her lips to his so fast that it caught him off guard. Lacey was right…but he was stubborn.

"This is childish and I don't even know why we are arguing about it," Lucius snapped suddenly, looking extremely intimidating and Lacey just wanted to scream in frustration.

"You can't just ignore this! I mean, not even for me but for Draco! He was the one that was worried about Astoria in the first place…it's not like you have a great track record with his women after all…"

Lucius' eyes flashed dangerously and he felt it prudent to reach his hand into his breast pocket of his dinner jacket and withdraw his own wand. He held it between both of his hands, twirling it at the tips, but let Lacey continue.

"And now you proved that you have no respect for your son, and you know no boundaries! And not to mention the truly horrendous way you treated me at dinner, and your stupid and barely passable apology, and by the way, when were you going to mention that you were a Legilimens, _hmm_? I'm not exactly comfortable with how you and your son have been trying to pry into my mind!"

"_ENOUGH_!" Lucius roared, now pointing his wand at her, pushed to his limit. No woman had ever called him out so blatantly, or listed all of his faults like that. Narcissa had always been diplomatic and passive, as had all his previous mistresses and even Pansy to some extent, and his ego couldn't take the criticism.

"_No_, not enough," Lacey said softly. She felt angrier than she had felt in a long while. Angrier even than when she read that Oliver was engaged. She knew in her heart she would have never fought like this with Oliver, or this hard for Oliver. She had thought she loved Oliver once, but the emotion she was currently experiencing was so much more painful, and so much stronger.

"Say the word then Lacey. But I won't go easy…" his voice dropped and the rumbling of it set her nerves on fire. She grasped her wand firmer. She couldn't believe she was going to duel with him. It had never been high on her to-do list, even during the war, but now that she was his lover and his mistress and locked inside his study with nowhere to go, she wished she was anywhere else.

"_Affligo_!" Lacey shouted, wanting to waste no more time and with a harsh flick of her wand, Lucius was thrown back, as if invisibly punched and he stumbled, catching himself by placing his hands behind him on his desk. He was only disoriented for a mere second, as he was quicker than Lacey in casting her next spell, and with a _Everte Statum _Lacey was thrown back against the opposite wall, her body sliding down it and landing in a pile on the floor. The immediate ache in her back was proof that Lucius hadn't lied about going easy on her.

"Expelliarmus!" Lacey shouted from her position on the ground and Lucius' wand flew out of his hand, but all it caused was a look of annoyance from him as Lacey got to her feet. With a wandless and wordless _Accio_, his wand was back in his hand in an instant, causing Lacey's mouth to gape knowing that she was way out of her league. She had never quite mastered wordless magic in the same way Hermione had when they had gone back to school after the war, but wandless magic was on an entirely different level.

"You are playing with fire Lacey, so why don't we just stop," Lucius suggested in a voice dripping with so much ingrained aristocracy that Lacey knew she could never acquiesce.

"_Intepestus_" Lacey said with malice, throwing one of her favorite hexes at Lucius, one that the Weasley twins had taught her. But before it could hit him and make him vomit uncontrollably, Lucius blocked the hex and sent an _Incarcerous_ at her before she could blink. In a second, her entire body was bound in rope and she struggled against it, trying to move her arm enough to put an end to the spell. Before she could make any progress, Lucius, who had been smirking from his vantage point standing in front of her, bent down and took her wand away.

"That will teach you," he remarked patronizingly which just infuriated Lacey more, "but…you actually look quite good all tied up like that…"

"Oh kiss my arse," she said, then sticking her tongue out at him. Her eyes were still full of fire and even though the dueling was further angering Lucius, he was feeding off of her anger as well and was impressed with her tenacity. Lacey was finally able to move her arm in the most unnatural and painful way, but with a _finite_, the rope disappeared from her body in a flash and with renewed anger, she yelled  
"_Relashio_!" at Lucius.

He dodged the spell just in time, but her action started them on a fierce flurry of offensive spells, intermittently blocked by _protegos_, but mostly with well-timed dodges, sending the hexes into other parts of the room and severely damaging the furniture in Lucius' study. They dueled like this in heated silence with nothing but the incantations coming out of their mouths, but their reasons for doing so morphed as quickly as their tactics changed.

Their blind anger brought about harsher spells; Lacey tapped into the dark side every Gryffindor staunchly denied they had and Lucius used his best friend's spell of choice repeatedly. Pride and vanity showcased their tactical dueling skills, of which Lucius' were much more refined, and overwhelming feelings for each other sometimes led to spells not quite hitting their marks on purpose.

Nearly breathless and backed into one corner of the room, Lacey sent a stunning spell at Lucius which he blocked easily with a _protego_, jolting her back. They both paused in their fight, equally intense eyes meeting from across the room and Lacey let her wand fall to the floor with only one thought on her mind. It had been so long since she had been_ that_ challenged, or scared, or confused, or had fought so hard because she wanted something. She wanted _him_.

He met her in the middle of the room as she ran towards him and he put his arms around her, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. She nipped at his lower lip, then a bit harder, tugging, and their usual dance for dominance started. His hands found her waist, trying desperately to pull up the material of her dress as she clung to him, hobbling lop-sidedly on one broken heel from their battle. They were both drunk on adrenaline and lust and when her hands got in his way of reaching her center by trying to undo his trousers, he pushed down roughly on her shoulders with his palms and her knees instantly buckled towards the floor. He followed her down, their lips only disconnecting for mere seconds for her to nip at his neck when she tore the buttons off of his shirt or for him to trail his hot tongue between her breasts when he managed to rip the top of her dress to suit his needs. Her face was flushed and his hair stuck to the back of his neck as she tugged his pants down to his knees and took his throbbing cock in her hand. He was so warm and stiff that she involuntarily gasped and pulled away from him and each took a second to examine the needy, mussed state of the other. Lacey raised her palm to her mouth and spit, less-than lady-like, on it, before reaching down again to one of her favorite parts of Lucius' anatomy and proceeding to stroke him with her wet hand, first fast, then teasingly slow in a tantric way.

He was momentarily stunned at the way she had taken control and done what she wanted without fear of looking gauche and it only made him throb more in her hand, causing a naughty smirk to creep up her face. His skilled hands snaked up and over the dip of her waist and to her hard nipples, but as he began to roll the pink buds between his fingers, she raked her nails down his bare chest and pressed all of her weight at him, pushing him down on his back on the floor and crawling on top of him. He captured her mouth once again to stop the triumphant look on her face and cupped one hand around the back of her neck gently as she rocked her body on top of him, teasing him by letting her sopping folds barely graze the head of his cock before moving away.

It only took him seconds before he was tired of her teasing and easily flipped her over onto her back with an audible thud of her body. When her blue eyes opened, she looked up at him, momentarily disoriented from the change of position and the ecstasy immediately filling her body as he inserted three fingers into her, pumping into her roughly. His other hand moved from the back of her neck to the front of it, putting just enough pressure to show her that he was in charge and to his surprise and amusement, she was even wetter instantly. She struggled against him when she wasn't moaning or rolling her eyes back in pleasure and when he pulled his soaked fingers out of her and put them into his mouth she screamed in frustration and reached up to try hitting him but he grabbed her wrist tightly before she managed to and pinned it down to the ground. He took his other hand off of her neck, causing Lacey to gasp, and roughly grabbed her hip to pull her body towards him and spread her legs wide over his thighs. Still on his knees, Lucius thrust himself inside of her, causing her back to arch at the sudden entry and he gave a sharp slap to her arse. Lacey bit her lip until it almost started bleeding and reached blindly out for Lucius, grabbing onto his forearm and trying to pull him closer to her. His grip was bruising on her thighs as he pulled her arse off the hardwood floor even more and she wrapped her legs around his waist like a vice, letting him get deeper into her. Lucius let himself revel in the ecstasy of her tightness and thrust savagely into her for a few moments, his light eyes flicking from her breasts moving in time with each harsh shove into her wet sheath and her fluttering eyes, with her long lashes kissing the tops of her cheeks and her mouth open in pleasure.

But even though he loved being selfish and enjoying the perfect vision laying below him, he couldn't stand not being as close to Lacey as he could manage and changed his position a bit so that he was lying over her, their chests touching, and they resumed their fervent kissing, acting as if death was moments away. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him flush to her, her nails scratching down his back when he would plunge himself inside her with even more force, grunting out his desire , and her hands weaved through and tugged at the dampened, golden hair messily mixing with her brown strands as they rutted on the floor. His knees scraped against the hard surface and she moved her heels to brace herself against the ground when he sped up, kissing her intensely before burying his face between her breasts right before they both came.

Lacey was certain she was dying when her orgasm hit her. She couldn't breathe and the world was violently colored and completely silent. She saw Lucius above her, his eyes intense and filled with the same mixture of emotions coursing through her body and she thought him a fallen archangel. She had never felt such intensity in her life, and he was the last thing she saw before she passed out.

Lucius collapsed, panting, onto his lover, but tried his best to only stay there for a moment to avoid his extra weight on her heaving chest. His fingers ran through her hair, feeling the silky strands between the pads of his thumb and forefinger, stroking them like some security-blanket from his youth, and rode out the last few throbs of his cock inside of her as the last of his seed rushed forth. With a sloppy kiss to her chin, he pulled himself away and stared at the woman lying there. When he withdrew, although her eyes were closed, her body reacted to the loss and she closed her legs and curled them up towards her body. He could see bruises beginning to form all over her and he thought them beautiful and exquisite on her pale skin, but felt guilty for the ones he knew came from his spells in their duel.

Lucius took the few moments of calm to retrieve both of their wands, cast a cleansing spell and a soothing one on Lacey for any immediate soreness, and mend their clothes and some of the broken things in the room. When Lacey finally came to, with a large sleepy smile on her face, she propped herself up on her elbows and found Lucius fixing the large tear in her dress with his wand.

"Will you floo home with me?" she asked quietly and although his head was down, he let his face break into a fleeting smile when she referred to the house he had bought her as 'home'.

"You are sleeping here tonight, I don't want any argument."

And before she could even open her mouth, Lucius tugged her panties up her thighs to give her a bit of modesty and scooped her up in his arms, which was no easy feat considering she was nearly as tall as he was. He carried her like a precious and protected child out of his study and down the hall a few paces to his bedroom where he laid her gently on the bed. Lacey let her body sink into the luxurious mattress and spread her arms out, sated and enjoying it, while he disappeared for a moment.

"Put this on," Lucius said when he returned to Lacey's side, setting one of his nightshirts next to her on the bed, "And make yourself comfortable, I'll be back soon."

After an unexpectedly sweet kiss to her forehead, he was gone and Lacey was consumed by a million thoughts racing through her brain as she looked around at the Slytherin-colored room shrouded in darkness, silhouettes of furniture only visible because of the sliver of moonlight peeking through between the heavy black curtains on the window.

Lacey raised herself up from the bed and took the nightshirt in her hands, feeling the softness of it before finding Lucius' monogram on the breast pocket in what she could only assume with the limited light, was dark-green thread. She slipped it over her head and pulled the silky fabric down over her body. She swung her long legs off of the high bed and walked to the ensuite bathroom to freshen up. When she turned on the light and looked in the mirror at herself, the girl staring back looked so familiar and yet so different.

She took a step backwards so she could see more of her body and looked at the cream colored nightshirt just grazing the tops of her thighs, his initials marking her right breast. Her hand trailed up to her neck, where there were three prominent love bites. Her hair was a frizzy mess and her eyeliner smeared slightly under her eye. Her lips were so raw they were tender to her touch when she passed a finger over them.

She couldn't believe all that had passed between them that night but even though most of it was fighting, it seemed so far away now. She had started their fucking, like all of the arguments and dueling had been some bizarre brand of foreplay and she hadn't been able to take it anymore. There was something about that man that made her do the craziest things and act in ways that she had never imagined she would.

But whatever he did to her, she knew she was too far in to get out. After all, she had just promised to be his. Yet, what scared Lacey more than anything was that she wanted to be in this mess more than anything else in the world.

**~o0o~**

"Son?"

The word felt odd leaving Lucius' lips, as he hadn't been a fan of giving too much affection to Draco, but he figured that the endearment would be best now. He had found Draco in the same place he had left him, which wasn't surprising, except now Draco was sitting in one of the chairs by the large windows of the room, sipping something dark and on the rocks.

In response, Draco just glanced up at his father and Lucius walked over to the chair opposite him and sat down with a heavy sigh, "I told Astoria that I never wanted her near this family again, and I am truly very sorry for everything that happened tonight. Please believe me when I say that I did not instigate anything unseemly. I already did that once to you and it has weighed on my mind as my biggest regret."

Draco cocked an eyebrow up at his father, slightly shocked at his forthcoming apology, but nodded, "I'm glad she showed her true colors, although I can't say I'm not a bit heartbroken. You must be disappointed that I won't be getting married. Mother will be."

"I don't give a damn when you marry Draco. To be honest, I don't care if you ever do. I'd rather have a son who likes me than a grandson whom I never see," Lucius said truthfully. Although pureblood families had always been about heirs, he had come so close to losing his own so many times that Draco was really all that mattered to him, "But your mother is an entirely different story".

"We can work on all of that," Draco gave his father a small smile, "So, did Lacey blow a bunch of holes in the manor? It got pretty damn loud up there for a while…"

"No, but she tried to blow a few holes into me. Don't ever duel her unless you want your arse handed to you on a silver platter," Lucius laughed a bit.

"You two have one very fucked up way of showing affection," Draco mused, "And I have to ask, how much affection do you actually have for her?"

"_Enough,_ I don't know why we are having this conversation…" Lucius' voice changed to be stiff and formal, as he wasn't eager to broach a subject made so awkward by his past mistakes with Pansy.

"We are having this conversation because she knows I've tried Legillimancy on her, and she knows you have too…"

"Yes, and I don't appreciate you telling her that…" Lucius glared at his son, but Draco continued.

"Well, she was having a bit of a fit after she saw you and Astoria and I tried her mind again to see if it was more open and I caught a bit of something I probably shouldn't have, and I had to tell her so."

"You've gone soft Draco, I'm disappointed," Lucius drawled, but was still intrigued, "What was it?"

"I asked you if you care about her?" he repeated, staring at his father intently for any signs of emotion.

"Of _course_ I do. I bought her a place to live in that wasn't infested with vermin and I feel truly awful about what happened tonight," Lucius stammered out, and it wasn't convincing to his son.

"But besides the superficial, father, do you _care_ about her? Because we should both stop denying that mother is sleeping with someone else…"

"And how do you know this?" Lucius asked, his heart picking up pace.

"When you were upstairs, I owled Grace to ask if mother could come back to the manor so I could talk to her about Astoria. Grace said she had never had plans with mother tonight and hadn't heard from her in a while. She's been gone _all the time_. I don't necessarily like it, and I'm sure you don't either, but the proof is there, so stop being so hard on yourself. Lacey isn't like anyone else. She's not here for your money and to be honest, I kind of like having her around," Draco said bluntly, but honestly.

Lucius was hurt about his wife, but it was more his pride than anything, and he had to admit that it was more than obvious that Narcissa was with another man. But, he had no intention of divulging to Draco the confusing mix of deep emotions that filled him whenever Lacey was mentioned.

"I'm going upstairs and going to bed. Lacey is staying for the night," was all he said in reply before retreating from the chair across from his son and hurrying back to his bedroom.

He found the object of all of his thoughts lying asleep under the covers, looking so incredibly peaceful that it nearly tore his heart into two.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review!**


	17. Whatever it Takes

**A/N: Hello everyone! I just want to say hi to all of you, old and new readers and a big thanks for all your love, support, and reviews. They are all so special to me! Lyrics from Marina and the Diamonds.**

"_Girls, we do, whatever it will take_

_Cause girls don't want, we don't want our hearts to break"_

**~o0o~**

Lacey awoke early the next morning with a pounding headache and a throbbing soreness all over her body, the most concerning of which was concentrated between her thighs.

"_Fuck_…" she groaned and grabbed the pillow from behind her head and slammed it dramatically down on her face, thrashing about so much that it finally caused Lucius to stir.

"What in Salazar's name is going on?" he asked her in the semi-darkness. When she just grumbled into the pillow over her face, he stretched his arm backwards to his night table and grasped his wand, flicking it to send the drapes open and the room was suddenly flooded with the gorgeous, slightly hazy, morning light of Wiltshire.

His next move was concentrated on the noisemaker herself, and he easily tore the fluffy pillow away from her face, causing her to squint and replace the pillow with her hands. It was quickly becoming all too clear to Lucius that Lacey wasn't a morning person.

Gently prying her fingers from her eyes, he bent down and kissed her softly, which finally coaxed her eyes open. He watched his reflection in her pupils as they quickly adjusted to the lightness of the room, but was soon distracted by her laughing as she suddenly fell back onto the plush bed in a fit of giggles.

"You are acting like a child," he said simply, but she just kept laughing and when Lucius sat further up in the bed, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall, realizing his normally perfect blonde hair was sticking up strangely on the left side, "_Brat_," he scolded her before laying back down on the bed and pulling her close to him. Her giggles died away in their embrace and Lacey tried to forget the intimacy of the action and let herself snuggle against his chest for a moment.

"So," Lucius started softly, watching the steady rise and fall of Lacey's side in his nightshirt, "How is Mistress Malfoy doing this morning?" he asked with a rare gentle smile. Although Lacey knew there wasn't too much weight meant to the sentence, and it was expected from him as she knew he liked marking his territory, it hit a little too close for comfort for Lacey. In fact, all of it was starting to make her uncomfortable.

In less than twenty-four hours she had gone from falling for him, to hating him, to fighting him, to fucking him, and now to waking up next to him in actual, certifiable love with him. She tried avoiding his eyes, as looking into them only further confirmed to her that she was undeniably in love with Lucius Malfoy.

"Sore. Hungry. You know, I actually should be out of here… I mean, what about your wife?" Lacey stumbled through her excuse quickly, pushing back the luxurious covers and swinging her legs off the bed, planting her bare feet firmly on the ground. She kept running her hand through her hair nervously and from the scattered way she looked for her belongings on the table, Lucius knew something was troubling her.

"I don't care about Narcissa, Lacey. Come back to bed, my dear," he requested, but Lacey was already stripping off the nightshirt with her back toward him and getting dressed in her mended clothes as quickly as she could manage.

"You know I don't do the whole morning-after thing…" Lacey said to him over her shoulder as she rifled through her purse, although she wanted nothing more to stay with him in bed, she had things to think about, her job to get to, and Narcissa to avoid.

"We're past that Lacey, I _thought_ we were anyhow…" he continued, his voice a bit stronger than before. She could tell by the unsure catch in it that he was confused, "Your my mistress…I want to talk with you. I want to have breakfast with you…"

Lacey froze, her whole body aching for him, but this time with an overwhelming and painful heartache. His request felt like a thousand birthdays, or the perfect spring day out on the Quidditch pitch and a winning game. But there were so many things wrong with loving him and she wanted to try and keep him unaware of that emotion so that she wouldn't be vulnerable.

"I do, I really want to…but getting caught by your wife isn't high on my list of things to do this morning," Lacey shrugged, trying to play it off as she turned back around to him. He was sitting up again, leaning his back against the immaculate wood headboard with his arms crossed. Her eyes followed the strong line of his jaw down to his perfectly muscled arms and cursed whatever higher power was playing such a cruel joke on her.

"I told you _I don't care_ about Narcissa. Come here," he said again and the impatience in his voice spoke to Lacey on a level she was embarrassed to admit slightly turned her on and she complied, getting back up on the bed.

"Yes, sir?" Lacey rolled her eyes and his darkened and stirred up memories of the night before, causing her to focus intently on the freckle on her left knee instead of his face.

"Don't be a cheeky little thing, Lacey, I'm being serious. I spoke to Draco last night and it has come to both of our attentions that my wife has a lover," Lucius said with a coldness in his voice that was a bit frightening. She could tell that in some distant way he was jealous, but he was mostly surprised, and disappointed. Lacey guessed that more than anything his ego was bruised that he wasn't the only one in the pair having extramarital relations. Although he didn't appear to have much love for Narcissa, he had this idea that she was a sweet, submissive woman that idolized him to some extent, and Lacey could tell that notion had been thrown out the window entirely.

"She does?" Lacey was impressed at how natural her voice sounded, even though she was lying through her teeth, "Who is it?"

"No idea who the bastard is…but that's not the point Lacey. The _point_ is I doubt she's even home from her own rendezvous, and I would just as gladly have her meet you if she were," he said.

_If you only knew the half of it_ Lacey thought to herself but feigned surprise, "Seriously? You must have hit your head pretty hard last night when I was kicking your arse in that duel…" she broke into a cute grin. Lucius, his hand moving faster than could be stopped, slapped her hard on the side of her arse in retaliation.

"Hey!"

"You deserved it and we both know you liked it," he smiled. "But…," he paused, and his face went stoic for a moment, as if he was in a dilemma about something. He finally cleared his throat and seemed to regain some of the power he was used to, "I think you are a lovely, intelligent, sexy creature…and…seeing as it is about to become very apparent that my marriage is a farce, I don't see why you shouldn't be my girlfriend."

For someone that was usually so composed, when Lacey glanced up at him, he seemed a bit awkward, like he was full of doubt about something and he didn't quite know which posture to assume, "Lucius…I'm your mistress. We have amazing sex. We fight. _That's it_." She answered him with a heavy heart and this felt like more of a lie than anything before it.

"Lacey…" his voice was suddenly raspy, like it was thick with emotion that he was doing a damn good job hiding in his face, "It's more than that. It's become so much more than that…"

"No it hasn't," Lacey countered, getting off of the bed, hoping that physically distancing herself would help, "I barely know a thing about you…"

"And it's a shame because you should, and I want to know you. That's why I want you to stay…" Lucius tried again.

"_Some _people have work."

"Some people can pull strings at the Ministry and can make that work disappear," he said with a cocky grin on his face that made her temper flare. She grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder and hastened for the door before the smile that she found so sexy crept any farther up his face. She hated that his biggest worry at that moment was coffee or tea and if he was going to go into work late. Her worries were entwined into a web of lies on top of unwelcome feelings.

"Goodbye Lucius, have a nice day," she said simply before leaving his bedroom. Slightly surprised he hadn't followed, she headed for his office and took the floo back to her new house before she could run into any other Malfoy before breakfast.

**~o0o~**

"Moons, we have a huge problem," Sirius burst into his best friend's bedroom but when he saw a flurry of covers and heard a womanly scream, he retreated, sending out a string of curses that would have made Peeves blush.

"I overslept…_I overslept_…"

"Narcissa, darling calm down, it's okay. It's only seven, there are no owls, no word from Lacey…I'm sure he is not even missing you…" Remus entreated her to come back to bed, not even caring about his best friend outside of the door apparently going out of his mind, but the blonde was already putting on her clothes and righting her hair with her wand.

"You can come in Sirius…" she called in her perfectly lilting voice, hiding all of her panic easily, although it was still visible to Remus in her eyes. Her cousin was in the room in a moment, clutching a copy of the daily prophet in shaking hands.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, not expecting the morning to go like this. What he had hoped for was more along the lines of breakfast in bed with the woman he loved instead of awkwardly trying to hide his naked self under the covers. He was more than ready to find his own place with Narcissa.

"I fucked up. Big time," Sirius sighed, tossing the paper over to his friend in bed and as Remus moved to look at it, Narcissa applied some lipstick in the mirror and with a pat to the back of her head to make sure her hair was in place, grabbed her things to leave.

"Shite…where's Ginny?" Remus looked up at the wide-eyed, lost-looking Animagus.

"Asleep still. I blocked the floo, which should stifle our problem for now…but it won't last long…" Sirius replied nervously and finally overcome with curiosity, Narcissa stepped back towards the bed to look at the cover of the Prophet.

_**Robbing the Weasley Cradle? Ex-Convict Black Steps Out With War-Hero**_

Narcissa read the headline out loud, and somehow it sounded even worse in her perfect accent. Her stomach immediately plummeted and she felt nauseous. She cared for Ginny in a way she had never would have expected, and was horrified to see a love she had seen flourish be smutted by the classless Prophet.

"And they _always_ have to throw in the convict thing…" Sirius mumbled from the doorway as Narcissa's eyes took in the picture…Sirius and Ginny in happy conversation walking down the street, holding hands. The picture looked as if it had been taken from far away, though, which made the sneakiness even more apparent.

"I swear I didn't see anyone…I thought we were safe," Sirius shrugged helplessly as Narcissa pursed her lips, upset for Ginny…and even more than that, upset that it was going to make Grimmauld place the hot spot for photographers now that it was on the map again, meaning that Narcissa would have to stay away from the man she loved if she wanted the divorce to go as planned.

"If you need anything, owl me, but be discreet? I have to go before this mess turns into two messes…" Narcissa gave Remus' hand a squeeze and then hugged her cousin before hastening to the floo downstairs. Remus looked empty when she was gone, but Sirius was quick to settle in, sitting on the chair by the window and holding his head in his hands, and certainly not caring about the privacy of his best friend.

"It'll be okay mate…if the prophet weren't such a piece of shite paper, they would be writing on more than gossip. I s'pose it comes with the territory," Remus yawned sleepily before giving his friend a sad smile and ripping up the newspaper deliberately. He was upset for them, but wasn't too worried. Sirius and Ginny were two of the most spirited fighters he knew, and he was sure they would survive it.

"Molly is going to castrate me." Sirius groaned into his hands, "Oh I am so fucked…"

"It could be worse, think of how it is going to be for _me_, Pads…look at it this way, you and Ginny are in love. You guys are perfect together and if people can't accept that, then they aren't being very good friends and family. It will blow over soon, _I promise you_…" Remus tried to be encouraging, but he knew it was dismal for Sirius. It wasn't so much their relationship now as the fact that they had kept it hidden for so long that would make their friends and Ginny's family angry.

"Morning," Ginny said cutely from the door way to Remus' room, startling both of the men. She was standing in her too long pajama pants and a robe over her, rubbing her eyes.

"It is so bizarre to me that we are suddenly all having a sleepover as grown adults…" Remus sighed as Ginny hopped onto the bed after hugging Sirius. But Remus wasn't quick enough to hide the evidence of the newspaper and when she caught sight of the ripped-up Prophet, she grabbed at the pieces and was able to discern enough.

"_Holy Mother of Merlin_," Ginny gasped, finally understanding why both of them had such strange looks on their faces, "Sirius I am so _so_ sorry, I was the one that wanted to go out, it was my mistake…the Prophet is so damn nosy and…"

"Gin, it's fine, I'm not mad, just patiently awaiting the wrath of your family," he said, "And I can tell you I am more scared than before I went to Azkaban…"

"Well whatever wrath they have, I'll give it right back. You are _my_ man and I don't give a damn who knows anymore. We were going to tell people soon, so I guess we just have a little change of plans!" she kissed him quickly before hopping off of the bed and heading towards the door, "Oh, and you both might want to get out of the room half-naked and alone with each other before I start thinking you have a thing and it gives me a complex… alright?" and she left, laughing all the way down the hallway.

"I adore that woman," Sirius shook his head, leaving Remus alone to contemplate the odd morning and finally put on some pants.

**~o0o~**

"Lacey, did you see this?"

Ron Weasley rushed up to Lacey in a panic, and as she looked around, it seemed like half of the Auror office was a bit disorganized and more focused on noisily gossiping than doing their jobs. Even the older main secretary with a penchant for meow-ing cat sweaters was whispering excitedly to one of the freckly new Aurors-in-Training.

He pushed a copy of the Daily Prophet into her face and she had to push it back for her eyes to adjust properly to the text. When she saw the moving picture of Sirius and Ginny out on a date, and the less than kind headline, she tried her best to feign surprise.

"_Wow_…" she said, trying not to commit to any particular emotion. Ron, however, seemed already committed to his-pure fury.

"Harry is livid…I mean…can you believe this? _I'm fucking beyond_….Merlin, that's his Godfather! My sister and Harry are meant to be together…I mean, mum is pissed…but we can't seem to find her, or Sirius…" Ron went on as Lacey walked to her desk and he followed spouting an incoherent string of worries and insults about his sister. Lacey sat down and began looking at some paperwork to distract her from snapping at her boss and telling him to fuck off, and was secretly glad that Sirius and Ginny had put themselves into hiding.

"You never know with the Prophet Ron, they are good friends and they probably just went out to dinner. It could have been doctored up…" Lacey tried to calm him down but he kept going on and on about it, his face turning the color of his hair and his voice raising in pitch so much that it cracked just like it used to during fourth year at Hogwarts.

Never in her life had she been gladder to see Draco Malfoy then when he walked into the Auror office a moment later.

"_Fuck_, now Malfoy is here too? Lacey…." Ron threw his hands up when Draco smoothly approached her desk, getting the gist of the conversation.

"If you could excuse her Weasley from whatever idiotic conversation you were trying to force her into, but I need to borrow Ms. Delaney for a moment," Draco said and without waiting for an argument from the nearly speechless redhead who looked about to pop a vein in his neck, took Lacey's arm and escorted her out of the office.

"Breakfast?" he suggested casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

"I've been here for five minutes and I do have work to do today Malfoy…_please_," Lacey sighed. She was appreciative that she had escaped the Ginny and Sirius line of fire, but she wasn't sure that spending a morning with Draco after spending the night with his father was any better. Especially when it meant returning to the office later with a stack of work and a furious and even more suspicious boss.

"I'm sorry, I should have been more clear. Breakfast is actually non-negotiable…"Draco smirked as they stepped out of the elevator and into the atrium.

"What is going on?"

"You are about to get a promotion…and a change of scenery," Draco told her before stepping into the floo with her and shouting the name of a place she hadn't heard before.

**A/N: I hope you all liked the chapter. A little change of pace. Tell me your thoughts! Where do you think Draco took Lacey?**


	18. Lucius' Interlude

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for waiting patiently for this update! Also, if you are a fan of our dear Lacey, see her battle head to head for Lucius' affections in the spin-off, collaboration story with VenusInHerHair titled "Sweeter Than Heaven and Hotter Than Hell" on my profile. We would both love for you to check it out. Enjoy the chapter!**

**This is a bit of a different chapter as it marks the exact halfway point through this story, and I really hope you enjoy the direction of this chapter.**

**~o0o~**

Narcissa was more than pleased that she found the Manor entirely empty upon arriving in it late that morning. The silence gave her a chance to collect her thoughts while she took a warm bath, playing over in her mind fond memories of an entire night spent with Remus, and the troubling press leak of Sirius and Ginny's relationship. It wasn't until all of the rose-scented bubbles in her luxurious bath were nearly gone that she heard footsteps in the hallway outside of her bedroom. She stepped out of the tub, and with a quick drying spell, hurried to her closet and slipped on a blue silk wrap dress. Her long, thin fingers deftly tied the sash and she tried her best to fake a look of confidence as she opened the door and walked out into the hallway.

"Narcissa," Lucius feigned a look of surprise as he turned around from down the hall to look at her. Her soft footsteps and the creaking of the old doors of the manor didn't escape him and he abandoned his original plans of flooing to Lacey's new house to leave her a surprise and instead decided to have a conversation years in the making with his wife, "Draco and I missed you last night…I hope you didn't overstay your welcome at Grace's. I do know that when you have too much wine, you are prone to getting rather drowsy". He walked towards her and bent to kiss her right cheek softly, keeping his tone light and his manner pleasant. He wanted to lure her into a false sense of security and her expression at his demeanor certainly suggested that she was surprised, and what he had both feared and hoped for-very guilty.

"I did stay a bit too late, I admit, and I hope I didn't wake you when I came in," Narcissa smiled coolly up at her husband and he so badly wanted to call her out on her bluffing but instead, offered her a gentlemanly arm and lead her back down the hallway on his original path to his study.

"No, dear, not at all. But I am a bit worried about the state of our owls, seeing as Draco sent one to Grace's last night and received no response from you. Not as smart as we all think they are, hmm?" Lucius could almost not contain his smirk when he closed the door behind both of him into his office and strode over to his desk, leaving Narcissa to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room. He knew Narcissa was a good liar, but now that he had the advantage of knowing she was in the middle of possibly the largest lie of her life, he was able to discern the tells that gave her away. In any other circumstance he would have considered them normal, but the way she looked at her nails for an extended period of time and darted her tongue out to wet her upper lip just slightly showed she was nervous.

"I didn't get a letter…how odd," she shrugged, finally looking him in his cold blue eyes as he stood formidably behind his desk, "And why was Draco trying to speak with me? Did something happen?"

"Yes, Narcissa, _quite a lot_ happened last night. I daresay he would want to tell you himself, and attempted to, but there is no getting around that now," Lucius drawled out the last few words and hit his wife with such a look that it made her whole body go cold and numb. It was in that instant that she knew _he knew_.

"Did something happen with Astoria?" she tried to keep the conversation on a different and safe topic for as long as possible, but finally, after holding it back for so long, Lucius' mouth turned up in a smirk and he let out a low, dark laugh.

"Miss Greengrass tried to seduce me last night. Needless to say the wedding is called off and Draco is _very_ upset. But you would have known all this if you were actually with Grace and not fornicating with some other man."

Narcissa gasped delicately, but other than that, silence filled the room as a glaze to the thick tension between husband and wife. They were both using the moment to think of an appropriate move.

"I don't know what you mean…"

"Do not _lie_ to me anymore Narcissa. Clearly you have been doing it for some time, but I won't tolerate it and it makes you look hideously unintelligent. The facts stand as such: Draco owled Grace and received a reply that you never had plans to begin with. You did not return to the Manor until very late in the morning. What else am I to assume but that you are being unfaithful?" Lucius looked at her, nearly challenging her to lie to him again with his eyes. But the very last word he uttered snapped something inside of Narcissa and her eyes glowed with anger and her posture changed. She stood up straighter and walked towards the desk in a confident stroll with a hand on her hip. It was as if she had morphed back into her seventeen year old self, trying to get Lucius' attention in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts.

"Do you _really_ want to talk about adultery Lucius, because we can," her voice was sugary and menacing at the same time.

"This has _nothing_ to do with _me_…"

"Oh, but it has_ everything_ to do with you Lucius. You've had mistresses since Draco was six months old. I've always known, but I stood by you through both wars and now that we've both come out on the other side of them, what is so wrong about me having a lover?" Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him, her voice strong and defiant.

"What's wrong is that it is affecting our family and is embarrassing and degrading to me as your husband!" Lucius raised his voice although he winced when he heard how contradictory the words sounded coming out of his mouth.

"_Affecting our family_," Narcissa cocked her head to the side, "Is that so? And it didn't affect our family when Draco caught you in bed with his girlfriend? Are you telling me that it doesn't affect us when you are flaunting your current mistress around this house in front of the elves?! It all comes back to you Lucius. Why are Astoria and Draco not together anymore? Because she tried to "seduce" you…and by the way, I think it was probably quite the opposite…" her voice came out low, bitter, and filled with the hurt and betrayal of twenty four years, "Times have changed Lucius, and I know we have both changed with them…but your notion that you are the only one allowed to step outside of the bounds of this marriage is archaic".

"I regret what happened with Miss Parkinson every damn day of my life, and make no mistake in my sincerity when I tell you that I dismissed Astoria from our house and that I made no advances on her. Yes, Narcissa, I have had mistresses and _yes_, I have one now, but I will not do anything that hurts my son again," Lucius stepped out from behind his desk, his muscles tense, and readying himself for a fight, "But you…_you_ are supposed to be my loving, faithful, wife. The mother of my heir. It's what is expected of you."

Both of them were so consumed with rage and resentment that they had no idea these feelings had been harbored in them for so long. For Lucius, sleeping with other women had become so natural and was so ingrained into Malfoy tradition that it was normal to him. And even though he hardly ever thought about it consciously anymore, having the perfect pureblood wife in Narcissa was something he prided himself on. It was something he could take to his last remaining friends, all of whom were divorced, and say 'look what I can get away with, but she still adores me'. He knew it was sick, but it was the truth. Narcissa, similarly, was no longer in love with the man standing in front of her, but her whole life had also been firmly rooted in tradition that breaking those rules was scary to her. Clearly, Lacey had done all she had asked of her, and she knew how ridiculous it was to feel jealous of her, but she could not help it. She loved Remus with her entire heart, but there was a complicated history between her and Lucius, and a third of a century was hard to forget so quickly.

"I am not some doll you can keep in a box and take out to dress up and play with anymore Lucius. I want a say in my own life. I want to feel loved and I want to feel wanted and needed again. If you are allowed to, then why can't I?" her face was flushed with emotion, but she firmly stood her ground even when Lucius took a calculated step closer to her, trying to further intimidate her. Slowly, he raised a hand up to her pink cheek and stroked her skin, which was only now showing minimal signs of age.

"But darling, you've always liked it that way," he lowered his venomous voice so that it was a mere breath between them.

Narcissa knew there was some truth in that statement. She had grown up wealthy and privileged, and her marriage to Lucius took that luxury to the next level. She loved the clothes and the jewelry and the looks of respect people gave her that she didn't have to work for. It wasn't that Narcissa was going to suddenly hate all of those things; it was that she felt ready to let them go. She knew, in that moment, that this conversation was more of a turning point than serving him divorce papers would ever be, and she had to make a choice. In her heart, Narcissa understood that she would be able to live without any of that, so long as she had Remus by her side. That realization bolstered her confidence, and a small smile came upon her face.

"But I don't anymore, Lucius," she looked up at him, "You see, you try to keep women in a cage. But no matter how lovely you make that cage to be, eventually, they will want to see the rest of the world. You did it with me and no doubt you have done it to every other woman you have been with. But in the end, they all leave, don't they?"

Lucius couldn't have hated his wife more than at that moment, solely because the first person that popped into his mind was Lacey, and his heart lurched at the truth in Narcissa's statement. He had also always thought that he got rid of his mistresses because he was tired of them, or because they had become boring. But maybe they tired him because he kept them too close? To avoid thinking about it any longer, he turned his resentment back on his wife.

"So, you are leaving me then?" he asked her with an uncaring lilt to his voice, but his eyes told a different story—one of being desperately afraid of losing control on any aspect of his life, especially one that he had thought was as perfect as it could be.

"No, Lucius. I am not leaving you," Narcissa said quickly. She wanted to make sure that when the time came for the divorce, it was a surprise, so she lied and saw his posture slacken a half-inch in relief, "But I am going to continue seeing my lover."

Lucius' relief instantly turned to a potent mix of jealousy and rage at her defiance, "Who is he?"

"Who is _she_?" Narcissa countered, although she knew very well who it was: the girl with the messy brown hair and eyes in his same mold.

Lucius stiffened, trying to regain an air of formal aristocracy that always afforded him confidence and merely said, "It looks as if we have nothing left to talk about. But remember, you are still my wife and you will act as such in this Manor. Do not further embarrass me and I will not embarrass you."

"Oh, it's too late for that Lucius," Narcissa shook her head smugly and turned towards the door, "But I do hope you have a_ wonderful_ day, husband." With a satisfied smirk, Narcissa left his office. The conversation had hurt her, but she felt that she had the upper hand. After all, she thought that she was the one coming out of the situation with a grand and lasting love, whereas Lacey would leave Lucius as soon as she requested her to. She felt like a free woman, even though she was far from it in the eyes of society, and decided to push her luck by heading straight back to where she came from-Grimmauld Place.

When Narcissa left his study, Lucius walked back to his desk and slammed his fist down onto it to release some of his frustration. He felt that his life was spiraling out of control and he hated feeling so uncertain of everything. He had been so sure that his wife was having an affair, but when it was undoubtedly confirmed, it shocked him. He had also thought she would cry to him, and beg for forgiveness, but she hadn't done that either.

It wasn't so much that he was mad at Narcissa about her lover, but that he was overwhelmed that he no longer knew her. He had gone on for years with the idea that she was the same girl she was when they were first married, or the same woman she was when she was swollen with his baby. But she had changed so much and he felt both sad and guilty that he had somehow missed it and let it slip past him. He had been so caught up in his own life that he had completely lost the life he used to cherish beyond anything. Narcissa had been his ally, the one to champion him. She stood by him and cleaned his wounds when he came home beaten from meetings with Voldemort. Lucius didn't love her with the passion he used to, but he was devastated that he no longer had her as a friend.

He felt hollow and self-conscious, having been made aware of his faults by his wife in such quick succession to Lacey's take on them from the previous night. Both women had him questioning himself, but he knew that while he was close to losing one and would have to resign to that fact, he desperately did not want to lose the other.

Lucius went over to the small mahogany bar in his office and poured himself a liberal amount of bourbon before moving to the left wall of his office. He took out his wand from the inside of his jacket and tapped the third wood panel in from the corner of the wall. With a creak, it sunk back into the wall, revealing an ornate silver door handle, which Lucius turned, opening the very tall, skinny hidden door leading into a much smaller, private chamber.

Malfoy Manor was full of secret passageways and hidden doors, but this one Lucius took pains to keep from Draco and Narcissa. As he slipped inside the dark inner hallway and closed the outer door behind him, he walked along to just the light on the tip of his wand until he came to a circular room. There was a single leather chair in front of a small fireplace, some bookshelves with his most prized first additions, a small desk containing his will and other important documents, and one particularly important portrait. With a flick of his wand, Lucius lit the fireplace and then moved over to the portrait, which was currently empty. The background looked very similar to the Slytherin dungeons and Lucius tapped the tip of his wand impatiently against the canvas.

After a few moments of summoning the subject of the portrait, Lucius retired to the comfortable leather chair and sipped his bourbon while he waited, watching the low flames dance and crackle.

"My old friend, I had almost thought you had forgotten about me," the dark, familiar voice was enough to direct Lucius' attention back to the portrait of his best friend, Severus Snape. Setting his glass down, Lucius walked with a sense of reverence over to the portrait-the portrait of a man he had trusted so much in his lifetime, who he had been so sad to see die, and whom he admired for doing far better things with his life than he did. Lucius knew he didn't have and never would have the courage to do what Severus did, and thus had commissioned the only other portrait in existence of Severus to hang in this secret room. His main portrait was in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, but Lucius could not live without his friends' advice is tricky situations. Today happened to be one of the biggest of such situations.

"How could I?" Lucius assured him, "How is life in your other home?"

Severus scowled, crossing his arms and pacing back and forth across the length of the picture, "Let's just say that watching Minerva poorly discipline little brats is sometimes grating."

Lucius smiled, and Severus' likeness smiled back at him. Now that the entire wizarding world knew Severus Snape had a heart and idolized him for it, he couldn't hide it as easily as he used to.

"I need to talk to you about something very important, otherwise I wouldn't have made you come here," Lucius began and Severus' raised brow prompted him forward, "Narcissa has taken a lover."

Snape chuckled, "I always knew Cissy would."

"What does _that_ mean?" Lucius nearly growled at the portrait, his eyes suddenly flashing.

"It means, Lucius, that after you having mistresses for decades, I'm not surprised that she tried it out for herself. Are you angry with her?"

"Yes," Lucius answered instinctively, "Well…that doesn't matter. It isn't so much anger as confusion. I want my family, Severus, but I am in love, and I think this may be a sign to sever ties with my wife."

"Lucius, _in love_?" Snape smirked, "Usually you are just in heat. Does this girl have anything to do with your son, by chance?"

Lucius' eyes darkened as he shook his head, "No, Severus. But this girl is different than the others. There is something about her that is irresistible, and yet I am worried that I am pushing her away…"

"Smothering her?" Severus added, purposefully trying to incite Lucius.

"Yes, in so many words. And I'm also afraid…" Lucius finally decided to open up to his confidant about something that he hadn't been able to verbalize before now.

"_Yes_?"

"I'm afraid that she's hiding something. I know she had feelings for me, but I can't seem to get close to her…and she's…" Lucius stopped himself before the word 'perfect' passed his lips, and looked down at the dark wood floor.

"Do I know this girl?"

"I daresay you do, after all, you taught her so well I can't get into her damned mind…her name is Lacey Delaney."

"Terrible at potions, but more than adept at Occlumency. I remember her well. Part of Potter's little clan-such an interesting choice for a man like you," Severus put his index finger to his chin, thinking, "I'd like to see her again."

"Why?"

"I think seeing her would tell me about why she is in your life, because it is rather odd pairing on both sides. Just leave the passageway door open when she is here, and if she is anything like the girl she used to be at Hogwarts, I have no doubt she will find me. But regarding your marriage, I think it is high time to consider a divorce. It's a new era Lucius, you don't have to continue to live in a past that has long since been forgotten by everyone but a select few". Severus nodded after he gave his advice, "But I have to return to the school. You do remember, no one knows about my second home here, and it is the middle of the day."

"Thank you," Lucius said sincerely to the image of his best friend and both disappeared from the hidden room.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! This took a few days to crank out, as I was a little distracted, so I would love some reviews! Also, next chapter we will see what Lacey and Draco are up to and the fallout from Sirius and Ginny's picture in the Prophet. Any guesses as to what will happen would be fun!**


	19. Web of Lies

**A/N: Hello, hello! We are starting back off from where we left Draco and Lacey. All of your reviews have been so kind and funny, and I have loved hearing your predictions for what will happen next. We are almost at 100 reviews, and I would SO love to get there. 100****th**** reviewer will get a shout-out!**

**Also, another shameless plug for VenusInHerHair and mine's story 'Sweeter than Heaven and Hotter than Hell' on my profile. I would love it if you could hop over and check it out! Thanks, now on with the drama…**

****Also, see the end author's note for something fun to do!****

**~o0o~**

The place that Lacey did not know the name of ended up being a quaint wizarding bed and breakfast smelling of cinnamon and teeming with comfy chintz pillows on every piece of furniture. She followed Draco out of the fireplace and into an adjacent room which was set up with various tables, all mixed-and matched with flea-market chairs, and occupied by some elderly couples have breakfast. Draco led Lacey to the farthest table, one by a large window set for three people, where a handsome man was already sitting with a cup of tea. He stood up and shook Draco's hand with a refreshing energy and then turned to Lacey.

"I'm Eddie Deverill, real pleasure to meet you," he smiled at her as she sized him up. He was taller than both she and Draco and his hair was a mop of black curls that looked perfectly slapdash. He was dressed nicely, in very fine robes almost matching Draco's, but even though Lacey could tell the man came from money, he didn't seem pretentious. Eddie seemed only a little bit older than her, and looked athletic, confident, and boyish, almost the complete opposite of Draco, although they looked to be good friends.

"Lacey Delaney," she finished the introduction as he took his hand away and the three sat down, "Deverill…_wait_…"

"Before you finish, let me save you the trouble. Yes, _that_ Deverill. I recently took over management of Puddlemere from my father and over drinks with Draco one night I mentioned to him that one of my best Chaser's recently sustained a terrible arm injury from a bludger and won't be back on the pitch for at least a year. None of my alternates are ready for extended play like that, and Draco mentioned you. _'Course_ I've watched you before on the Harpies. You are a firecracker out there and truly I thought you had already been picked up by some other team…"

Lacey was trying to process all of the information Eddie was throwing at her in his quick, distinct cadence. It was clear to her now that Draco truly was friends with some of the heavy-hitters in the Quidditch world and she was thankful that he was making good on his promise _but_…

"Hence why we are here…" he motioned to the table and then looked up at the sweet old witch who set three English breakfasts down in front of them with a smile, "So, Delaney, what does your fall schedule look like?"

She looked from Eddie as he winked playfully at her and then dug into his breakfast, over to Draco who looked rather smug and like she owed him something for this. "Um, well, I'll have to think about it…" Lacey began, not wanting to sound ungrateful. After all, it was far from recruiting season, and this was a good opportunity, _but it was Puddlemere_…

"Think about it?" Draco looked at her as if she had grown another head, but it didn't seem to faze Eddie, who continued. "Oh, it's fine Draco, she's just trying to seem diplomatic, like she had other options. But, we all know what the answer will be in the end…your pay is fairly negotiable, and I am pretty sure I can pay you double what the Harpies paid you."

He turned to her with a mouthful of food and eager eyes and although she was desperately trying to think of an excuse, she knew she didn't have room to be picky. Quidditch was her life, it was where she felt most at home, and she shouldn't be balking at any opportunity to get back on a broom. She hardly valued her job at the Ministry and had no real ties to it now that she was involved with Lucius…it was just the question of…

"So it's a yes then?" Eddie asked, after he swallowed. Draco's eyes bore into her, willing her to speak and not embarrass him.

"Of course, when do I start?" she smiled weakly at both men who gave her a hearty congratulations and spent the remainder of their breakfast discussing specifics, with Draco using his Slytherin cunning to get Lacey a higher salary than she ever expected.

An hour later after the bizarre but exciting breakfast in the Dorset countryside, Draco and Lacey stepped back into the Ministry.

"Can you say something please? You've been nearly catatonic for ten minutes," Draco grumbled as they walked through the atrium together, garnering stares as they did so. Lacey hardly noticed, but Draco was more than aware of how good they looked as a couple, even if it was far from what their actual relationship was.

"Puddlemere…_really_?" Lacey finally snapped at him, causing him to stop in front of the giant fountain.

"You are seriously the most ungracious bitch. You wanted a try-out…and you ended up with a spot on a great team in less than an hour. I got you out of Weaslebee's dreary office and back doing what you love because I am thankful for what you did for me. You saved me from a horrible life with a horrible girl, so please, at least _try_ to seem appreciative…" Draco sneered at her, reminding Lacey very much of his father.

"I know, Draco, and it's honestly quite impressive that you did what you said you would…but of all the teams…" Lacey squirmed uncomfortably, looking around at the people walking by who were giving them inquisitive looks. Draco knew what she was getting at, but Puddlemere had been the only team with an opening.

"Look, I do read the piece of shite we call the Prophet, and I know it's a bit of a sore spot with you that Wood is engaged, but it really shouldn't matter. Suck it up and play with the git. For 75,000 galleons, it should be rather easy," Draco stared her down. He had done his own snooping on Lacey when he had found out about her and his father and he knew Oliver Wood was an ex of hers, but he felt suddenly protective of his dad, wondering why she would care so much.

"You are right," Lacey sighed. She could plainly see he was trying to induce guilt on her and she was surprised at herself in the first place that it even bothered her and tried her best to immediately shake it off, "It was just a weird morning, that's all. When you said I was getting a promotion, I really hadn't expected _that_."

Draco seemed to soften at her explanation and they continued walking towards the lifts, "Well, what were you expecting?"

"I thought your father was going to pull some power-trip, take me out of the Auror office, and hire me into his office…" Lacey laughed heartily when they stepped into the lift, but she missed how hard Draco tried to hold his own laughter back.

"About that…" he smirked as he pressed the button for the level of Office of International Muggle Law.

"Oh," Lacey jumped onto a tangent, oblivious to what Draco was currently finding so amusing, "And you also promised Ginny a try-out as well. Let's not forget that."

As the lift shot up, Draco gave Lacey a scathing look, "As I said a moment ago, I do read the Prophet, and I doubt Weasley is going to want to be back in the limelight anytime soon." He had been shocked to find out that Ginny was dating Black and made it particularly easy to avoid doing anything nice for the red-head, "I already pulled a lot of strings for this morning, alright?"

The doors slid open and the pair stepped out, with Lacey finally realizing where they were in relation to her own office. The second thing she noticed was that the blonde secretary that usually sat behind the half-circle desk was gone.

"I'll just leave you to my father then. I'm sure I will see you soon Lacey," now Draco couldn't hide his mirth, and began snickering as he got back into the lift, precisely the same moment Lucius strode out of his office with a purpose.

"_Fuck! Draco!"_ Lacey turned and hissed to him as the lift doors closed and obscured him, before she turned back to her lover with a forced smile, "Did you need something Lucius?"

Lucius gave his mistress a small smile and with a swift, calculated move, had his hand on the small of her back and was leading her into his office with her barely realizing they were moving, "I thought, since you were so worried about getting to your job this morning, which ultimately deprived me of time spent with you, that you could work as my secretary. You can go into work whenever you deem fit and the only person you have to answer to would be me. Besides, this office could use a beautiful face and I know _I_ would enjoy it," Lucius explained as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about firing your perfectly capable secretary in hopes your lover would take the position.

Lacey was so taken aback that she was sure her mouth was hanging open unattractively as she looked around his office with wide eyes. She had been in there before only briefly, and it seemed so long ago.

"No," she blurted out suddenly.

"No?" Lucius voice seemed amused, as if he was sure she would say yes but was only teasing him.

"Yeah, you heard me. No way in fucking hell," Lacey repeated and watched his face turn dark with annoyance.

"And why ever not?" he straightened his posture and stared down at her as if she was a child in need of discipline, "I thought this would make you happy."

"_Happy?_" Lacey nearly laughed at how ridiculous the statement was, "News flash, Lucius, I kinda hate my job as a secretary already and there are a few really good reasons why I am saying no. The first is that I'm playing Quidditch again, thanks to your son, and the second is that I refuse to work for you and thus be under your control day in and out. Nope, not happening."

The way her face flushed and how she said her words with so much hostility immediately affected Lucius. He thought back to the conversation he had that morning with the portrait of his closest friend as well as the conversation with his wife. Was he stifling Lacey by suggesting this? Was he that blatant in his attempts to keep her? He was panicked, "It is not supposed to be a punishment, Lacey. And I had no idea that Draco was helping you play Quidditch again…not that I am surprised, knowing his friends…but…well, I am pleased for you."

"Oh, thank you, sir, I am _so_ glad you are happy for me," Lacey's tone was impertinent and sarcastic, and she knew that in any other situation with him, she wouldn't have been able to get away with it. As it was, from the way his mouth moved into a frown, she knew she would pay for it eventually.

"I simply wanted to give you more freedom, Lacey," Lucius finished with his reasoning, but was not happy with the way she was currently pouting, "But as it stands, the Quidditch season is not upon us and I really do need the help," he was so desperate that even though he rationally knew he was suffocating her, he couldn't help but firmly say, "You are my mistress and you don't have a choice in the matter."

"Oh, _how convenient_. I am your mistress when you want to force me into something, but this morning you wanted me as your girlfriend!"

"You gave up rights for an argument on that topic the moment you left my bedroom. If you are going to act like naught but a mistress to me, then you will be treated as such. And if you are my mistress, it extends to well beyond the bedroom," Lucius' voice dipped low and he nearly growled out his threat but Lacey stood her ground.

She wanted so badly to yell at him, to truly scream her lungs out and tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't without messing everything up for herself and tried her best to keep quiet until she gathered more nerve and finally spoke, "Look, the answer is no, Lucius. Sorry."

With that she gave him a sad smile. With her anger checked, she desperately tried to convey her true feelings with her eyes, even though she knew he couldn't possibly understand.

"Where are you going?" he asked coldly when she moved towards the door to his office.

"I'm going downstairs to quit my job and then I'm going to see Ginny," Lacey added the second part as an afterthought when she saw a folded up and seemingly un-read copy of the Daily Prophet near the corner of Lucius' desk. She took a few steps back from the door, picked it up, opened it, and threw it poorly at his feet, causing some pages to flutter out elsewhere in the room, "And by the way, I wasn't lying when I said Sirius and I were just friends. And I'm not coming back to the Manor tonight."

With Lucius looking at the moving picture of Sirius and Ginny walking hand-in-hand, Lacey strode out of his office and slammed the door as hard as she could behind her.

**~o0o~**

A few hours later, Lacey was holding Ginny's hand for moral support as the two girls sat with Sirius and Remus on either side of them on the couch in the Burrow's living room.

After an awkward and hasty conversation with Ron about quitting her job as secretary for him, Lacey tried to floo from the Ministry into Grimmauld but found it blocked. Annoyed, but understanding why, she apparated a few streets away from the townhouse. When Lacey had approached, she found a slew of photographers, no doubt from the Prophet, staking out the residence. With a quick full-body disillusionment charm, Lacey managed to sneak past them and knock on the door and with some coaxing of her best friend, finally managed her way inside.

Ginny had led her to the library where Sirius, Remus, and Narcissa were sitting. The sight of Lucius' wife immediately set Lacey on edge, thus she was completely stunned when Narcissa stood up from her perch on the armrest of Remus' chair, strode over to Lacey, and hugged her like she was her daughter. The embrace had lasted for a few uncomfortable moments and Lacey could have sworn Narcissa was crying softly into her hair. Over the woman's shoulder, she widened her eyes to her best friend who just shrugged and rolled her own. Whatever Narcissa was on about, Lacey figured it had to do with Malfoy's always wanting to be the center of attention. In reality, Narcissa had just been emotional from her encounter with Lucius that morning and was extremely grateful for what Lacey was doing for her in allowing her the opportunity to be with the man she loved. She was realizing she hadn't been as kind as she could have to Lacey, and was trying to make up for it, but all it had come across as was ill-timed sentiment.

When Narcissa had pulled away from the hug, she wiped her eyes daintily, "So good to see you Lacey, it feels like it's been forever."

"Right, um…_so_…" Lacey pushed past her towards Ginny, not wanting to linger on Mrs. Malfoy's emotions, "What's the word from your family?"

Sirius had jerked his head to the coffee table in the middle of the room, where several opened red envelopes were laying. Howlers. Lacey grimaced, knowing that Howlers from Mrs. Weasley were a fate she wouldn't wish upon anyone.

"Mum wants us all at the Burrow tonight for a family dinner, and I s'pose we have no choice. Sirius and I have to face them sooner or later," Ginny had simply said, and that was how they had all come to be sitting in the Burrow, sans Narcissa of course, staring directly at a fidgeting Arthur Weasley.

The Weasley patriarch normally had the utmost respect for Sirius and counted him as a close friend, but now he was staring at him murderously, seeing him only as his beloved daughter's much older, leather pants wearing, and flying motorcycle driving boyfriend. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen, trying to distract herself by making dinner, and cursing quite a bit, which was quite odd for the woman.

"Sirius…" Mr. Weasley began, red in the face when he saw his daughter's other hand dart out and grab the Animagus'.

"Arthur…" Sirius replied, trying to look calm but inside he feared for his life, especially for one particular male appendage of his.

"Dad, come off it, it's_ really_ not that big of a deal," Ginny jumped in, which caused her mother to come out of the kitchen screaming even louder than any Howler, "Ginevra Molly Weasley it IS a big deal. You kept this from us and lied to your own family. You broke poor Harry's heart. And Sirius is _twenty years_ older than you!" with her final words Molly looked at Sirius as if he were some sort of pervert and fled back into the kitchen in a huff. Extremely loud clanks of pots and pans ensued and Lacey could only imagine what it was going to be like when everyone else arrived.

"So him being forty-four is disgusting, but when Hermione was with Remus, it was alright?" Ginny was furious, and even though Sirius was scared shitless, he looked at his girlfriend in awe, both proud and touched that she was fighting for their relationship. Remus, however, winced at his name even being brought up into the conversation.

"Hermione is not my daughter," Arthur used as his reasoning and Ginny looked ready to send her famed bat-bogey hex her own father but was saved when the door to the Burrow opened and in piled Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna, Fred, and George and Angelina. They looked like a mostly ginger angry mob, which would have been comical if not for the situation.

"You bastard!" Harry yelled immediately when he spotted his Godfather, and leapt towards him, barely restrained from tackling the older man by the twins grabbing his arms and pulling him bacl. Both Sirius and Ginny stood up, with Ginny throwing her arms out, as if she was guarding her boyfriend from harm.

"He didn't do this to hurt you Harry, if you have an issue, you can take it up with me," Ginny said bravely, her face that of a warrior. Lacey and Remus stood up as well, wanting to be ready if Harry pulled his wand or did anything stupid.

"You left me for my fucking Godfather?" Harry's had stopped yelling and struggling against the twins, but it was plain he was heartbroken. Mrs. Weasley emerged from the kitchen with a dishtowel in her hand and everyone else stood still as Ginny let go of Sirius' hand and walked fearlessly towards her ex-boyfriend.

"We broke up because you cheated on me and decided to go back and screw everyone from our graduating class, _sorry Mum_," she looked over at her mother, who was shocked at that revelation, and then continued, "And you didn't treat me right. It's obvious that you care about me, and you will always be my first love, but I wasn't dating Sirius when I left you. Nothing was because of him. I can't help who I fall in love with but I love him with all of my heart. I get that it puts you in a weird place and I am sorry you are hurt, but I won't apologize for being happy in this relationship" Ginny told Harry softly, but no one spoke when she finished and she looked back helplessly at Sirius.

"Harry, I know this isn't the best case scenario, but nothing is going to change, and it doesn't mean you aren't family to me and I love you," his voice was choked up when he stepped forward to Ginny's side, trying to convey the true depth of his feeling for his Godson, but Harry shook his head resolutely.

"I don't care Sirius, I don't. I love Ginny and the two of you are making a mistake. Honestly, it's really pathetic that you can't find someone your own age that you had to go after my girlfriend…"

"_EX_-girlfriend," Ginny corrected him quickly, narrowing her eyes at the shaggy-haired man.

"Harry, stop, before you say something you regret," Sirius begged him.

"_No!_" Harry was yelling again, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, "I won't regret anything because I mean it when I say you aren't my family anymore."

Ginny grasped Sirius' hand and leaned on him, almost as if she needed physical support to keep going in the presence of everyone she loved, "This is all complete bullshit, we're leaving."

"I don't understand what is wrong with all of you. We have all been through the darkest times imaginable, and any news of love or joy is something to be thankful for," Sirius looked around at the group surrounding Harry before putting a protective arm around the woman he loved and left with her. It took a few moments for anyone to speak again, but it was Mrs. Weasley who first broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Well, since you are all here, you might as well stay for dinner!" she tried to act cheerful as she wiped a lone tear with the dishtowel. There was a mumble of agreement and the group huddled by the door around Harry began to disperse to help set the table or sit down by the fire. Everyone tried to establish a sense of normalcy, but Lacey didn't get off unscathed. The second the Burrow filled with low chatter, Mr. Weasley asked her to follow him into the kitchen, where she was met by Molly, hands on her hips.

"Did you know about this?"

"Not until really recently, just a couple weeks ago, but it really was Ginny's decision of when to tell you guys, and I support her," Lacey said with a small voice. When angry, Molly was one of the few people that frightened her, possibly because she had been Lacey's surrogate mother since she was eleven.

"You are her best friend, you know her better than anyone else, what in Merlin's name is she thinking?" Arthur's voice was the calmest of the pair, and he was looking at Lacey imploringly.

"She's in love, and you can't fault her for that. To be honest, I did think the age thing was a big deal when I first found out, but since then…" what Lacey_ really_ meant to say was 'since I have fallen in love with a man even older'…but she didn't, "well, I've changed my opinion. She and Sirius work well together. He takes care of her and she is happier than I have seen her in a long time."

Lacey truly meant every word, but even if she had disapproved, she knew she would still back Ginny up. Ginny was nothing short of a sister to her, and she would fight every one of her battles if she could. But before either of Ginny's parents could respond, they heard yelling from the living room and Lacey ran out to find George sprinting out to the backyard after Fred. Without hesitating, Lacey followed and found Fred, George, Remus, and Hermione in the fairy-lit backyard. It was clear Hermione and Remus were having a conversation that was interrupted by a seething Fred, and George was desperately trying to figure out what his twin was so upset over.

"I know!" Fred kept saying over and over, looking at Remus, and when the red-head caught sight of Lacey standing a little off to the side by the flower bed, he turned the same words on her.

"What the hell are you going on about Fred? Have you gone bloody mental?" Lacey shouted back at him, searching his eyes for what he might be feeling and she found sadness in spades.

"No, I've just figured out who it is that you are seeing. I mean, it's obvious, isn't it?" he looked around at the other three, "If my little sister is with Sirius, then it's obvious that you and Remus have got a thing going on. It all makes sense-why you are always at Grimmauld, why you don't want to talk about it to anyone, why you hate Hermione…."

"I do _not_ hate Hermione!" Lacey interjected as Remus groaned. Hermione made a helpless peep of a noise, but it got lost in the yelling.

"…and why you won't go out with me. It _has_ to be him!" Fred finished and Hermione looked desperate to say something. She looked exactly as she used to in class at Hogwarts, nearly bursting with the answer. Remus shot her a look of warning, begging her to not blow his secret. To everyone but the Twins, it was clear that Lacey and Remus couldn't be in a relationship, but Fred looked devastated.

"It's absolutely not true. There is not a single bit of truth in it whatsoever, right Remus?" Lacey looked at her friend and former Professor, and she could tell he was thinking hard about something. Hermione was practically beside herself with anxiety over the situation and George simply looked sorry for his brother. Fred hadn't stopped trying to figure it out since he had kissed Lacey in her apartment, and Remus knew (as it was glaringly evident) how much of a crush Fred had on Lacey and also knew he wouldn't stop until he had an answer. Against his better judgment, and for more selfish reasons to ensure Narcissa stayed a secret, Remus smiled what he hoped was endearingly at Lacey and walked over to her.

"It's fine, Lace," his words were stilted as he tried to feign more that the friendly familiarity they had, "We might as well tell them that it _is_ true and not hide it any longer."

**A/N: Uh oh! Do you think Remus made a mistake? What do you think about the Weasley's and Harry's reaction to Ginny and Sirius? Are you happy for Lacey's new job-and will things only get rockier for her and Lucius? Tell me all about it in the comments!**

**Also, I think this would be fun…I want to re-do my cover image for this story, so if there is someone you picture (an actress, etc) while reading Lacey, tell me who it is! The person I agree with the most gets a shout-out next chapter and their 'vision' will be my new cover image. Go!**

**And also check out my other new story! Thanks a billion!**


	20. Not Marriage Material

**A/N**: Hey everyone! Thanks for bearing with me as I update my stories. Much appreciated! Grad school began again, and you all know how that goes…As promised, 100th reviewer gets a shout-out: Thanks **VenusInHerHair** (and go check out our collab story on my profile). To show I'm not just biased haha, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: **Benkins, Eclipse000, Narutoske, onecelestialbeing, katarina97, and Hexe09**. You guys rock!

**Also, I only got one response regarding who you all imagine Lacey to look like in your heads…so lay it on me! Who do you picture her as?**

**Now on we go…**

**~o0o~**

"You are fucking out of your mind!" Lacey ranted, red in the face as she stormed into Grimmauld place with Remus right on her tail. After Remus had lied to everyone and pretended they were a couple, Fred had nearly exploded, fired Lacey on the spot from the shop, and disapparated before he could be reasoned with. She just hoped to Merlin that he wasn't splinched somewhere. But besides that awful image, she had more pressing issues to deal with.

"I did what I had to do!" Remus argued back with her, following her into the dark library. Lacey agitatedly flicked her wand at both of the lamps and they lit, better illuminating Remus' scarred, sorry looking expression.

"Bullshit!"

"Lacey, please don't be upset with Remus…"

The new, smaller, and sweeter voice caused both Lacey and Remus to turn and see Hermione in the hallway, looking into the library.

"You've got to be bloody kidding me," Lacey groaned under her breath and she flopped down on a chair by the dark fireplace, proceeding to ignite it with flames possibly a little too intense for the situation.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Remus asked her softy, ignoring the way Lacey was cursing and throwing pillows around. Besides the three of them, Grimmauld was empty, and he could only assume Ginny and Sirius had escaped somewhere for peace and quiet and reprieve from what had transpired at the Burrow.

"I just feel awful…it shouldn't have to be this way!" Hermione said and Lacey looked back over the arm of the chair at the bushy-haired brunette, looking longingly at Remus. It was enough to make her sick- too many people she knew were in love with someone they couldn't really have: Fred with her, Hermione with Remus, Harry with Ginny, and herself with Lucius.

"Look, Hermione, thanks but this really isn't any of your concern. There was nothing you could do without blowing everything and it was Remus' _stupid_ decision, not yours. I can take it from here…" Lacey snapped. She knew she would feel bad about it later and would apologize when she could, but right now she was livid and honestly didn't want Hermione to get caught in any crossfire.

Remus sighed as he watched Hermione rock back and forth on the balls of her feet with nervous energy, "She's right, Hermione. I'll talk to you later okay? Could you go and see if you can try and find Ginny and Sirius?"

Not exactly pleased, Hermione nodded and left, leaving Remus to walk in front of the chair where Lacey was sitting and cross his arms over his chest.

"Why hello boyfriend, need something?" Lacey looked up at him, snark dripping from her words, her eyes glaring up at him dangerously.

"Drop the attitude Lacey, it doesn't suit you."

"I'll drop the attitude when I'm good and ready to Remus. You don't just get to make choices like that and expect me to be happy with them, alright?"

"You know as well as I do it doesn't mean anything."

Lacey shook her head, biting the inside of her cheek so hard she could taste the iron of her blood, "I am already telling so many lies…and now I have to pretend in front of all of our friends that I am your girlfriend. Now that you've put it out there, we _have_ to do it. We _have_ to hold hands whenever we are in public, we _have_ to pretend like we are intimate…we…"

"I thought I was doing you a favor!" he cut in. It was clear to him that Lacey wasn't interested in Fred and he thought his abrupt decision would ultimately prevent Fred from looking any deeper into Lacey's love life...and finding something he didn't want to.

"A favor? Fuck you," she slumped even further down in the chair, her eyes watching the dancing flames instead of his helpless expression.

"I had to. I had no choice. No one can think I have anything to do with Narcissa…it would ruin everything!"

Lacey suddenly sat up in her chair and stared Remus down, her light eyes extremely intimidating, "Do you remember who is helping you and Narcissa be together? Oh, that's right…_me_. If we are out in public and act like a couple to keep up appearances for our friends, word will get in the Prophet and Lucius will read about it. When that happens, I will no longer be his mistress and the two of you no longer have a distraction while she pushes through a bunch of red tape. Smart move, Professor."

Remus paused, thinking about her words and letting his anger abate. He knew she was right in some senses, but she was still far too emotional about it. He knew he was the last man on earth Lacey would ever want to be paired with, but still…something wasn't right in the way her eyes looked wet as she stared off past him.

Remus paced, took a seat in a chair opposite her, and finally it hit him. "You are in love with him aren't you?"

Her chin perked up but she said nothing.

"I don't know why I didn't see it earlier. I know what it's like to be in love with a Malfoy, and that look is written all over your face," he tried to be gentler with his tone, vividly recalling the sheer terror he felt when he had realized he was head over heels for Narcissa. Along with it came the exquisite feeling of happiness, and mixed together they resulted in an awful, never ceasing stomachache. He saw it in her eyes the most, and realized that a flash of softness had come over them a moment ago when she said his name. She clearly cared for him.

"Does it matter?" Lacey finally spoke, her voice bitter and angry, "It's all going to go to shit in a couple of days now…and even if it doesn't…I'll lose him when Narcissa decides she's ready for the next step. Hell, it's probably over already…" the last part was said more to herself than to Remus, as she thought about their little meeting in his office and the argument that had ensued.

Remus steepled his hands and placed the tips of his fingers against his forehead, letting out a long breath, "Merlin…I'm sorry Lacey. If I would have known I wouldn't have said anything to Fred…I wouldn't have…"

Lacey had stopped listening to his apology, as sincere and sweet as it was. Her mind was solely focused on something else and as it dawned upon her—the conversation from that morning with Lucius replaying in her mind-she looked over at Remus, "He knows, did you know that?"

"What?" he jerked his head up.

"Lucius…he knows Narcissa has a lover. He doesn't know it's you…_yet_, but he knows…" her heart thudded erratically against her chest as the realization of a great many things bombarded her mind all at once, "Shit Remus, everything is so completely fucked…"

He was up from his chair and at her side within a half second. He never liked seeing anyone distraught, especially not a woman, and he bent to push her wild hair out of her eyes as tears fell down her panicked face.

"Slow down, Lacey, it's alright. Tell me…how does he know?"

"I'm not sure but he does and he said it didn't matter because he had me…but we got into a fight today and he could…" truthfully, she didn't really want to think about he was doing or could do out of anger. There really was nothing scarier than a pissed off Malfoy with nothing but time on his hands. For all she knew he could be tracking down Remus as they spoke, "It's just…the sooner he knows about you, the sooner the divorce will happen and then I'm gone. Remus I just thought I had more time."

Remus crouched awkwardly on the floor in front of Lacey, not exactly knowing how to help her. He had never seen her _this_ upset. Her usual look was care-free and flirtatious, but now she looked exactly how he felt inside: in too deep. Except he was fortunate enough to walk out of the situation liberated when the time came. As he watched her sigh deeply and rest her head back into the old chair, he knew he had to do something. After all, he was living proof that love knew no bounds and he didn't want her to needlessly suffer from a favor he had partially asked of her.

"Lacey, look at me," he coaxed her in a calming voice and she eventually picked her head up and stared straight into his eyes, "When the time comes I promise you…I swear it…that you won't have to lose him…"

Remus never imagined himself saying something like that about Lucius Malfoy, but he knew the girl in front of him was the only reason for that. "I will though…don't you fucking get it? I've lied too much. He'll never forgive me when he finds out I was only a catalyst for his divorce," Lacey groaned, putting her head in her hands once again and letting herself succumb to tears. Remus rubbed her back as he thought about the mess figuratively spread before them.

"I made a rash decision tonight that only further buggered things up, and so I promise I will do what I can, Lacey. I'll do whatever I can."

**~o0o~**

The weekend had been unbearable for Lacey, even though she tried to pretend like she wasn't bothered in the slightest. She had avoided Diagon at all costs and instead made use of the little market in Swindon outside of her new home for things as she didn't think she could handle running into Fred, or any Weasley for that matter. Beyond that, she hadn't heard from Sirius or Ginny, Narcissa had taken off to Paris to see to some of the property there with her lawyer, Harry and Hermione had tried to visit her (to no doubt talk about Remus, Ginny, and Sirius)…looking in the wrong place above the apothecary, of course…which had suddenly caused suspicion on her whereabouts. And to top all of that off, she hadn't heard from Lucius at all. Nothing. No owls, no floo calls, not a single word.

It was enough to cause her to pace in front of the fireplace all of Sunday morning and lie in bed clutching her pillow to her chest the rest of the afternoon. And it forced her to face the thought she had tried to bury deep inside of her-that she was in love with him. Now that he wasn't speaking to her, she realized that it wasn't only the sex she was missing, but all of him. Without her knowing it, he had become such a constant in her life over the last month that it was now unbearable to be away from him.

Not even with Oliver had she felt such a gaping hole in her heart when he was gone, and it scared her.

When Monday morning finally came, Lacey ate breakfast at the pristine white marble island in the kitchen and dressed for her first Quidditch practice in months. When she arrived at Bodmin Moor stadium, she was thrust into many introductions by Eddie before finding herself standing in a semi-circle in the middle of the pitch with the rest of her teammates…minus one. The man in question jogged up to them a few minutes later, broom in hand, and gave Eddie a slap on the shoulder before the manager retreated to watch the practice in the stands.

"Alright then, first pre-season practice!" Oliver Wood's thick accent stumbled over some of the words when he made eye contact for the first time with Lacey, but he continued, "And we have a new addition to the team this season…our new Chaser, Lacey Delaney. Let's all make her feel at home. Now, training is going to be rigorous and…"

Oliver went on, but Lacey stopped paying attention to his pep talk and looked around at the group. She hadn't known he had been promoted to captain, and her chest constricted in the utter mortification of playing alongside her ex, under his rules.

It was strange though, that even as she listened to the voice that used to make her slightly weak in the knees, that she now felt nothing. It was a relief, but it still didn't change the fact that she was pissed at him. More like _beyond_ pissed.

She was the last to kick up into the air and as she rose higher and higher above the pitch, Lacey felt the anxiety of the weekend leaving her and being replaced with sheer joy as she bent over the broom and sped towards the hoops to run some drills with the other chasers. Suddenly, it didn't really matter how many times Oliver yelled at her, or gave her odd looks when she sent a particularly well-thrown quaffle through a hoop. All that mattered was that she was where she wanted and needed to be for that moment.

Three hours later and absolutely dripping in sweat, Lacey dragged her feet behind the rest of her team into the changing rooms. With a small, proud smile, she walked over to her locker, running a hand over her newly painted surname, and opened it. Without ceremony, she was stripping off her shirt down to her sports bra when she felt a tap on her naked shoulder blade. Awkwardly caught in her shirt and not able to see who startled her, Lacey quickly flung it off over her head and turned with messy hair strewn over her face only to see Oliver standing inches from her.

He was half naked, standing only in boxers, and she was even more excited that his well-defined body did nothing for her anymore…and simultaneously petrified about what that meant…that she was long gone for a certain blonde that wasn't speaking to her.

"I think it might be a good idea to talk," he shrugged sheepishly as she crumpled up her shirt and threw it in her locker.

"Ya think?"

"Look, Lace, what I pulled on you…it wasn't right…" he began and she tried her best not to seem self-conscious as she stood in front of him in just as little of clothes.

"Damn straight it wasn't right. Why did you do it? I know we had a fight and I know things weren't working out…but why did you lie to me the whole time?" she placed a hand on her hip, tapping her fingers on the curve over her hip bone, "And a better question…why would you cheat on the woman you wanted as a fiancée?"

Oliver looked around the locker room, noticing some of the girls were lingering and trying to hear their conversation so he further lowered his voice, "Honestly Lace, you were great fun. Really. But that's all it ever was."

"What do you mean, _'all it ever was'_. We were together for a long time…" her heart plummeted and the blood rushed from her cheeks, leaving her paler than usual as he gave her a sorry smile and continued, "Really, you were amazing, but Katie is the type of girl I could take home to my Mum, you know?"

With a terrible swallow, revealing just how dry and constricted her throat was, Lacey fought back tears, "So…I was just sex to you?"

Oliver grimaced and put his hand on her shoulder but she violently swatted it off, "Lace, don't be like that…it was more than sex, I swear it was, but you've got to realize it…you _really_ have to know…you just aren't marriage material…"

Even though she was hurt, and nearly boiling over in rage, she managed to raise her voice above a whisper and say, "Don't you dare try to make me feel like shit, Wood, when you are the one that cheated on Katie with me! Does she even know?"

"'Course not…" he said with hesitance in his voice, his eyes practically pleading with her to not tell anyone. Lacey just looked down and reached for her clean clothes, slipping a jumper over her bra and training her eyes on Oliver as she very purposefully yanked her shorts down and replaced them with yoga pants. When she was done, she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Well, I hope the two of you have a bloody fantastic marriage, for her sake, because no matter how little you think of me or how much of a slut you think I am, if you cheated once, you'll do it again," she told him before brushing past him and making her way to the apparition point outside of the stadium as fast as she could.

**~o0o~**

"He knows."

It was the first thing out of an anxiety-ridden Remus' mouth when Narcissa stepped out of the Grimmauld floo on Monday afternoon. He had been sitting in the library, patiently awaiting her arrival back from France, as she had left right before the dinner from hell at the Burrow.

She was smiling to herself, not too concerned about Remus' confusing words or the pronounced circles under his eyes as she walked casually into the library, clutching a thick file, "Everything is set. I'll be getting the Avignon property, so we can honeymoon there if you want…"

"Narcissa, Lucius knows you have a lover, I'm not exactly too concerned about where we are going to honeymoon at the moment," Remus interjected.

"Oh, I know," she replied flippantly, walking over to the couch and sitting down before depositing her dragonhide purse on the coffee table.

"You knew? And when were you planning on mentioning that to me?"

"Today, at some point. I had a conversation with Lucius, but in all honesty it was taken care of. Sirius and Ginny were the main priority and it really just slipped my mind Remus, darling." She got up after toeing off her heels and moved towards him to kiss him, but he turned his cheek at the last moment, leaving the blonde gaping.

"It just _slipped_ your mind?"

Now Narcissa's expression turned just as stony as her lover's, "How exactly do you know that Lucius knows?"

"Lacey told me…"

"_Oh_, did she now?"

"Well if you were around this bloody weekend you would have known that, right?"

"Yes, like I was sure to be welcomed with open arms into the Burrow. You know I couldn't go, so settling things in Paris was the best option," Narcissa tried to finish the argument and remain as composed as possible, but inside her mind was racing with what could have possibly happened while she was gone, "And how exactly does Lacey know this?"

"Lucius told her that he knows you have a lover, but he doesn't quite care. What exactly did you and your _husband_ have a conversation about?" Remus couldn't have said 'husband' with more acid in his voice and Narcissa flinched.

"He caught me in a lie and I told him I know about his mistresses and now he knows about my lover. He does not know it is you and he won't, but he is aware of the situation. He doesn't know about the divorce yet, if that is your concern," she put a finger to her chin, trying to figure out the look on Remus' face. She had never seen his eyes so dark, and even though she knew the full moon was approaching, he had never looked so upset in her presence.

"I don't care about the divorce, I care that you decided not to tell me this. It could have prevented me from making a huge mistake," he blurted, pressing his palm to his forehead and then dragging it through his already ruffled, sandy hair.

"Remus…" she moved towards him again and this time he let her put her hand on his cheek, "What did you do?"

With a heavy sigh he said, "At the Burrow, things went to shite right away with Sirius and Ginny…and Fred Weasley accused me of being with Lacey. There was no way I could refute it…they know Hermione and I have not been together for a while and there is no way I could tell the truth, so I…"

"You _what_?" her voice was icy. She already figured out what he was going to say before he did, but she urged him on anyway.

"I lied and said that Lacey and I were, in fact, together. But if I just would have known about your conversation with Lucius, maybe I wouldn't have been so fucking freaked out!" his voice went from a mere whisper to full volume in a second and he broke away from Narcissa to pace and try not to take his anger directly out on her.

"You are right, that _was_ a mistake. Lacey is becoming more trouble than she is worth," Narcissa sniffed, sounding every ounce the pureblood spoiled child she used to in her youth. Her change in tone shocked Remus and he came to a stop in the middle of the floor, turning on his heel to face her once again, "All she has done is what you asked of her. I don't think it's fair of you to blame her…"

"You could have made up something else, Remus. You could have kept quiet. But no, you thrust yourself into a fake relationship with Lacey for me…I don't buy an ounce of it. I understand Remus," she spat, trying to hide her emotion under a callous tone, "She's young and beautiful and when I found you two sleeping on the couch together it hardly looked platonic…"

Remus opened his mouth, but nothing but a confused stutter came out, "Wh…Cissa…are…are you jealous of Lacey? Yes it was a stupid decision, and trust me I have paid for it the past few days, but it wasn't done with any hidden agenda."

Inside, Narcissa felt embarrassed. She knew how much Remus loved her, that he would hang the stars for her if he could, but even though she knew she was still a beautiful woman, and that the signs of age hadn't caught up to her as much as they should have, there was one reason why she was suddenly so jealous of Lacey and she couldn't shake it.

When she had talked to her husband, it was more than clear that he had fallen in love with the brunette. Narcissa had hoped for lust on his part, but never love. She didn't even realize her husband still had it in him to love like that. And if Lucius could fall in love with Lacey, the part of her heart filled with love for Remus that blinded her and made her unreasonable, figured that he could just as easily fall in love with Lacey as well.

**~o0o~**

Over multiple cups of tea, Lacey spent her afternoon mulling over what Oliver said. Although he had been a right prat, she had to admit that his words resonated with her.

For so long she had tried to build up walls to prevent herself from being vulnerable in relationships because she had been so deeply hurt. She just hadn't realized that the walls had gotten a little too high. She hadn't exactly changed herself…as she knew there was no changing the stubborn, emotional, daredevil of a girl she was…but she had chosen to only highlight one part of herself to men. Lacey realized that she had made sex so casual that eventually men saw that as all she was made of and moved on. And if they did fall for her, she made it impossible for them to get close to her, and they moved on as well, or she left before they could.

Even though she knew that deep down, she wasn't a slag, or a party girl, or a girl that wasn't marriage material, she just hadn't shown any man the real her because she was afraid.

Oliver Wood had broken her heart, made all the wrong moves, and was a sorry arsehole of a cheater, but she owed him one for this.

Lacey downed the last of her fourth cuppa as her mind flicked to Lucius. The morning of their fight he had wanted to spend time getting to know her…and letting her get to know him, but she had ran because she was scared. She had been living in a lie for too long and just didn't know how to tell the truth anymore.

_And you know what? I guess it's high time I faced that bloody fear_, Lacey thought to herself, leaving the kitchen in favor of her bedroom and pulling her nightstand drawer open for the charmed copy of Lucius' calendar.

She had tried her best not to look at it over the weekend, as she didn't want to know his whereabouts, but now she flipped through it with a smile, realizing that dates and meetings that were previously in there in the past weeks had been scribbled out and replaced with her name.

_Her name_.

As her fingers moved to that afternoon, she glanced at the three o'clock timeslot and her smile faded.

_Interview with Sarah Chittingham—new secretary_

As quickly as her happiness had come, it disappeared, and she slammed the datebook closed. Promises to be more vulnerable aside, she would be damned if she let him replace her without a fight, even if she hadn't wanted the bloody job in the first place.

**A/N: okay, don't hate on me, I know it wasn't the most exciting chapter…but the next one will be! What do you think Lacey will do? What did you think of Remus and Narcissa? How do you think Ginny and Sirius are holding up? I would love to know your thoughts!**


	21. Every Time is an Adventure With You

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for sticking with me between breaks. I love you all. And I would love to hear from you. Don't be shy! **

**This is a pure smut-tastic chapter. Rated M and not much plot, so enjoy!**

**~o0o~**

Lacey was well aware of the stares she was getting from nearly every witch and wizard she elbowed past in the Ministry. It wasn't only because she was fighting through groups of people as if her life depended on it, but more because of her attire. She had forgone robes for her tan muggle trench coat that only reached her mid-thigh, and not much at all on underneath. As she stood in the lift, surrounded by people giving her horrified looks, she realized in hindsight that her plan wasn't as flawless as she imagined if she had to encounter half of wizarding London before she even attempted it.

Breathing a sigh of relief when she stepped out onto the floor of the Ministry that she now knew very well, Lacey paused when she looked in the direction of Lucius' office and found the door closed and the glass of the floor to ceiling windows blackened with a spell Lucius used when in important meetings.

Lacey's stomach clenched in anger and nerves, wondering just what he would need to keep from prying eyes in a mere interview with a potential secretary and her mind jumped immediately to a worse-case scenario conclusion. She looked down at her heels and the get-up she thought would steal the show and suddenly felt childish and insecure. At that moment she wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to plan on marching into Lucius' office in front of a woman she didn't know in a short trench and lingerie, like she had seen happen in the cheesy muggle movies her and her younger sister used to watch on summer holiday, curled up in bed together with a hidden flask of Ogden's. In those films, it all played out just right, but now she wasn't sure that her spontaneous idea was going to go so smoothly.

She ran a hand down the back of her hair, smoothing it to not much avail, and in her pause, she heard a high-pitched giggling coming out of Lucius' office followed by the low, dark-chocolate-and-a-shot-of-whiskey laugh that could only come from the one man that now occupied every one of her fantasies. _He was in there, laughing with some daft bird, not even thinking twice about her. Was she really that replaceable? _

_Snap out of it, Lace. What have you got to lose? Him? _

She didn't really want to answer that question, nor did she want to continue to talk to herself like a crazy person, so she pulled herself together with a deep breath, harnessed the jealousy that was making it difficult for her to breathe, and headed towards the door.

The second his office door burst open, every face held the same look—surprise. Lacey was shocked that she hadn't found them fucking, the girl, and she could really only be called a girl by the looks of how young she was, had been cut off mid-sentence and her green eyes betrayed her confusion, and Lucius was simply surprised to see Lacey, and yet, not that surprised at all.

Clearing his throat, Lucius broke the awkward silence that had followed Lacey's entry, "Did you need something Miss Delaney?"

"Actually, yes," she nodded, jumping in before the girl could speak, "Sorry honey, but the job has been filled. Thanks for coming though. I am sure you are really delightful, but it just wasn't meant to be."

Lucius leaned back in his chair, placing his fist over his mouth to hide his laughter as he watched the young girl, Sarah, gape unattractively at being ordered about. She was a haughty little pureblood fresh out of Hogwarts with no real-world experience and had clearly never been spoken to like that before.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Malfoy and I were in the middle of an interview and he didn't tell me that the position was filled. I don't know who you are, but clearly you don't have any manners if you are going to barge in on a meeting like this," Sarah held her head up high and Lucius stifled another bout of laughter. He knew better than anyone that Lacey was not going to take a response like that lying down, and was truly happy that she was there. He had missed her, had missed this—every facet of her that was so unpredictable.

"You are right. I don't have any manners. Which is why I can tell you to get out of my boyfriend's office because I don't have a lot of clothes on underneath this coat and I plan of making the most of that with him on that desk," Lacey said matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow at the petite blonde sitting in the chair in front of her. Sarah gave her a scandalized look and at this, Lucius stood up and his countenance took on a completely different emotion. He was no longer laughing, but highly impressed, turned on, and just the slightest bit sorry for the poor girl that he never really wanted to be his secretary in the first place.

"I do think it may be time for you to leave, Miss Chittingham, although it _was_ a pleasure," he dismissed her and the girl had no choice but to storm out of the office, mumbling under her breath, leaving Lacey finally alone with the man she had missed for days. Lacey shut the door and then turned to him.

"Well, hello there Lacey," Lucius said, his words nearly a purr. He raked his eyes over her tousled hair and the short trench coat to her long, bare legs and heels, "I wasn't expecting to see you."

"I wasn't expecting it either. But here I am. Just in time, thankfully. And just in case it wasn't obvious, I'll take the job if it's still on the table."

"Oh, I think we could work something out," he smirked, walking out from behind his desk and moving closer to her, "But I seem to recall you saying that you had a lack of clothing on underneath this coat and I must say that I can hardly think of anything else at the moment." He reached his hand up to cup her cheek, stroking her soft skin and letting his hand fall to her exposed collarbone, trailing his fingers to where the first button of the coat was. Lacey pushed his hand gently away with a smirk.

"Did you miss me?" she asked and his eyes darkened. He bent his head to plant a kiss right below her ear on her neck, causing Lacey to moan softly. She hadn't realized missing his touch so much would cause her to go wanton for him so quickly. "Don't ask stupid questions," he chastised her, "And if you came here simply to tease me then you are going to be exceedingly sorry."

She could hear the hidden playfulness in his voice, mixed with dominant undertones as he gave a sharp and unexpected smack to her arse. Her reaction caused her to move closer to him and he put his hand on the middle of her back to keep her pressed to his chest, "I also seem to recall you saying that I was your boyfriend."

This time Lacey blushed, "You are if you want to be. I've done a lot of thinking and I was stupid for holding back. I'm all in, Lucius. I want it. This. Us. _Everything_."

She wouldn't have ever been able to tell by the look on his face, but Lucius felt a surge of relief and an intense happiness fill him. If he was being completely honest, he wanted that just as badly, if not more, and being without her had been hell for him. To show her so without marking himself as ridiculously emotional, he let his face crack into a small, genuine smile.

"Take this damned coat off and get on my desk. We can talk about all that later, darling," he told her, his smile giving him away and Lacey broke into a wide grin herself. This was everything she wanted. This was them…and it couldn't have been more perfect. Even a simple 'yes' from him wouldn't have meant more than that.

She took a step back from him and slowly unbuttoned her trench coat one button at a time, with a teasingly seductive look on her face, her confidence bolstered by his words. Lucius' erection was already getting uncomfortable in his trousers by the time her breasts were on display for him in a sheer, lacy, black bra and he moved to sit down in the chair Sarah had vacated, facing Lacey and enjoying the semi-voyeurism.

"You came all the way here, through the whole Ministry in only this, to seduce me in my office?" he smirked, unbuttoning his trousers and pulling down his zipper as she hit the fourth button down the coat, exposing her taut stomach and bellybutton.

"That was the plan Mr. Malfoy," Lacey grinned, finally reaching the last button and pulling open the coat to reveal her entire set of black lingerie. Her tiny sheer thong finished the ensemble, along with a scrap of black lace serving as a garter around her thigh, "Too much?" she asked, a little worried when he didn't say anything.

"Well, you know I prefer you in nothing at all, but this…this is…" he couldn't find the words to finish his sentence, as most of the blood was leaving his brain anyway. He had pulled himself out of his trousers and his gorgeous, thick cock was fully hard. Lacey saw it twitch impatiently as he looked hungrily at her.

She dropped the trench to the floor and it pooled around her feet in her tall black heels. She gave a slight turn so he could see her practically bare arse and the negligible amount of fabric covering it and watched as he grasped the base of his cock and started to greedily stroke it.

Lacey took a step towards Lucius, entranced with how good he looked leaning back in the chair, his trousers pushed down his thighs and one hand cupped his balls while the other stroked himself, "You really couldn't contain yourself, could you?" she teased, half wishing it was her hand on him, but enjoying how roughly he gripped his cock and his face tensed in pleasure.

"Well if you are going to just be a bloody tease then I had to do something, didn't I?" he grunted out, "You look so fucking perfect and I…"

Lacey dropped to her knees in front of him, spreading her legs and putting her hands on his thighs, "You what?"

He groaned as he gave his cock another sharp tug, but Lacey grabbed his hand and swatted it away, replacing it with her own as she gently began stroking his shaft, "You infuriating woman, you should _know_…"

Lacey inclined her head but kept her light blue eyes locked with his and her lips just ghosted the head of his cock. She noticed his hands tense as he grabbed the armrests and she stuck her tongue out just slightly, almost licking him, "But I don't. And I want to hear you say it."

Pure fear of his emotions drove Lucius to fist a hand into her messy hair and jerk her forward toward his cock, but she turned her cheek with an impish grin so the side of her face just brushed against his velvet length. "Lacey…" he breathed, and she could hear the need in his voice, so once again she opened her mouth and moved as if she were going to take him, but then quickly backed away and stood up.

Fire shot through Lucius' eyes as he quickly followed suit, kicking off his trousers and hastily unbuttoning his shirt, "You are going to pay for that…"

"Am I?" she flirted, taking a step back and biting her lip, "Just tell me what you were going to say Lucius and I'll be a good girl. Promise."

"No," it was a short and final answer, but he knew she wouldn't give up. He was upon her in an instant and his mouth crushed against hers, seeking the warmth and the sexy fight for control he had missed so much in the past days. She melted readily under his touch, moaning into his mouth when he palmed her breasts and the pair found themselves making their way towards his sleek mahogany and glass desk. Although Lacey had vividly pictured them fucking on top of it, she was still more than pleased when Lucius maneuvered her so that she was bent over it, arse in the air, calves stretched as even her heels and her height didn't put her at exactly the right place, and arms laid out in front of her submissively across the desk. She had no idea what he was going to do, but the wetness in her panties was proof that she didn't really care as long as he touched her.

All that was keeping her bent over the desk was his firm hand on her lower back, but other than that, his body was disconnected from her and the separation was painful for Lacey. "If anyone else had been in my office, that little stunt you just pulled would have been a mistake…and let's not forget how you acted the last time I saw you."

Lacey was just relieved that he wasn't really wondering how she had shown up at just the right time in the first place. She focused on his dark, low voice and could nearly feel his gaze on her. "I was rude, I know." She finally answered him, but all she got in return was another unexpected slap to her arse. She jolted against the table, her breasts, only covered by the extremely thin fabric of her bra, rubbed against the cold glass of the desktop and caused her nipples to pebble.

"Rude is an understatement. You were also ungrateful…"

_Slap_

"Stubborn…"

_Slap_

"…and you left me and didn't talk to me for an entire weekend."

Lacey whimpered when he spanked her three more times and then gently caressed where he had hit her, bringing the rosiness out onto her pale skin even more. She tried to reach around the desk for anything to grab onto but found nothing. "You didn't talk to me either…in case you forgot…not even one bloody owl…" she retorted.

His palm spanked her pussy this time and Lacey yelped. Her legs shook from the bewildering pleasure of it and Lucius couldn't help but smile at how turned on he saw she was, "That insolent mouth of yours is so troublesome sometimes, Lacey."

"You know I don't care. Are you just going to stand there Malfoy, or are you going to fuck me? Because at this rate, I might as well do it myself," Lacey groaned out, so sexually frustrated, turned on, and panting for him that she felt she would die without his hands on her.

"Oh, is that what you want?" He took one finger and ran it down the length of her back, followed the curve of her arse, and then dipped it underneath her panties into her wet folds, "You want me to fuck you Lacey?"

She tried to bite her lip to keep her mouth shut, but it didn't work and her low moan betrayed her. The way he was caressing her hips and softly rubbing her tender arse was killing her in the most delicious way and she wriggled her body, still under the control of his hand keeping her in place, and it showed him she was losing control.

Lucius looked at his lover…his _girlfriend_…and his breath caught in his chest at how sinful she looked spread out for him like that. He moved his hand from her back and down to the thin band of her thong and yanked on it so that it snapped off of her and left a red line around her pale hips. He did the same thing with the flimsy little garter, ripping it off her thigh. He loved each little squeal she made and moved closer to her, stroking himself a few more times before thrusting into her from behind.

The force literally moved Lacey's chest and tits back and forth against the glass beneath her, cooling her in contrast to the heat between her legs and his warm, thick cock inside of her. Lucius thrusted relentlessly into her with one hand on her shoulder and another on her hip, making her rock back into him so he could fill her more deeply with every stroke.

Lacey could hardly believe it but she was so close to an orgasm and breathlessly told Lucius so, which had the opposite effect she intended-he took himself out of her and left her panting and shaking against the table. After a moment, she felt she had enough strength to move as she recovered from being so close and not getting release, and stood up and whipped around on Lucius, who was standing there with the most devilish smirk on his face.

"Something wrong?"

"You fucking bastard," Lacey groaned as he looked over her body and saw the deep duskiness of her nipples beneath the sheer fabric of her bra and the pretty flush to her cheeks.

"We both know you deserved that," he winked at her, taking a step back towards and silencing her with a kiss that moved down her neck. He alternated each of her hard nipples into his mouth, biting and licking them, before placing his hands around her waist to lift her up and set her down on top of his desk. This time his ministrations didn't stop and he kissed down her stomach and when he got to her center, he jerked her knees apart and buried his face in her pussy. Lacey weaved her hands through his blonde hair as he slowly licked up her folds and took her clit in his mouth. He loved the way she screamed out his name, not caring if anyone could hear, and how delectable she tasted when he sucked a little harder on her clit and she came for him. He gave her a few lingering kisses there before looking up at her glowing face and heaving breasts.

"And…how come I suddenly deserved t_hat_?" she asked and he stood up between her legs, "Well, I always try to be a gentleman, and I honestly just couldn't resist. Now, let's make better use of this desk, shall we?"

He ran a finger down the side of her face before moving it to her mouth. Lacey sucked it eagerly as if it was his cock and the little action made Lucius even harder. "_Dirty girl_," he scolded her lightly, taking his finger out of her mouth and using it in tandem with his thumb to pinch her cheek. He then leaned over and with a few quick shoves, knocked all of his paperwork on the floor until the glass top was completely empty. With one graceful move, he was up on the desk, pulling Lacey on top of him so that she was straddling him and his back was flush to the cool glass.

"We are going to break it!" her eyes were wide as she ground against his erection and her wetness created delightful friction between them.

"The second you walked into this room wearing that coat, I wandlessly charmed the desk to hold both of our weights," he told her, looking up at her and reaching behind her back to take off her bra. He threw it to the floor and began to covetously cup and knead her breasts in his hands as she rocked back and forth against him, almost letting him slip into her a few times and causing him to grunt in pleasure.

"So you knew this would happen?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I hoped to Merlin it would, and look where we are now…" his tone was cheeky but infectious and Lacey placed her hands on the planes of his defined chest and he grasped his cock and lined it up with her sopping entrance. With one simultaneous movement from both of them, Lucius was once again inside of Lacey and bucking up into her tight, wet heat. She rolled her hips to coincide with his thrusts, making sure he came nearly all the way out of her before she would ease back down onto his length, causing him to sigh out her name and close his eyes in ecstasy. Lacey moved her hands from his chest to hers, pulling at her nipples as her tits bounced up and down, mesmerizing Lucius as he stared up at her.

"Fuck this feels so good…" she moaned, her voice cracking after she said it when they both fell over the plateau and began to race towards orgasm together. He coaxed her down to him and she pressed her chest against his so she could nip at his neck. He took her hair into his hand and into a makeshift ponytail and tugged on it hard with every stroke up into her body, causing her back to arch further as their bodies rubbed against one another. She knew he was close when he moved his grip from her hair and held her close to his body with his arms, grunting as he filled her over and over again. Lacey let herself go and scraped her nails down his chest as she orgasmed and cried out his name into his neck. He spilled himself inside of her a few moments after and was sure he had never come so intensely before. Her name had left his lips again and again and when they were both spent, he held her close to his chest for a while and stroked her slightly damp and perpetually messy hair as he felt her shallow breaths against his body.

"That was unbelievable," Lacey told him and her voice barely made it above a whisper. He tightened his arms around her in a hug of sorts.

"Every time is an adventure with you Lacey," he murmured into her hair and he could feel her cheek move against his pec and he could tell she was smiling, "What do you want to do now, darling?"

At this question, Lacey sleepily moved from her place snuggled against him so that she was supporting herself with her hands on the table and looked at Lucius with a smile and the most outrageous sex-hair imaginable, "So wait, is that definite a yes to wanting to be my boyfriend?"

"It always was a yes."

"Then I want to go home and I want to talk. I want to get to know you and I want you to know me." Her voice was decisive and stronger than it had been before and Lucius was well past hiding his emotions at that point. He felt so much for the woman lying on top of him that he didn't feel the need to hide the smile that her words caused.

"Then we will. Anything you want."

"Can you tell me now what you didn't say earlier?" She asked, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side and seeming more curious than prying. The feeling in Lucius' chest made it clear to him that now was the time. He simply couldn't hold it in any longer. Severus knew. His wife knew. And even Draco knew. There was no reason why she couldn't.

"I love you, Lacey. That is what I wanted to say."

**A/N: AHH the 'L' word! Shorter chapter, I know, but I liked the way this stood by itself. Reviews would be lovely!**


End file.
